What does the range measure?

What does the range measure?

• A. The sum of scores
• B. The variance around the mean
• C. The dispersion by subtracting min from max and adding one
• D. The standard deviation

Answer: (C)

The range measures how spread out the data are by using the extremes. It looks at the gap between the smallest and largest values. You find this by subtracting the minimum from the maximum, which gives the spread. In some contexts, it’s described as counting how many different values lie between the minimum and maximum, inclusive, which is that difference plus one. For example, if the data go from 3 to 9, the spread is 9 − 3 = 6, and the inclusive count of possible values is 9 − 3 + 1 = 7 (the values 3 through 9).

The range measures how spread out the data are by using the extremes. It looks at the gap between the smallest and largest values. You find this by subtracting the minimum from the maximum, which gives the spread. In some contexts, it’s described as counting how many different values lie between the minimum and maximum, inclusive, which is that difference plus one. For example, if the data go from 3 to 9, the spread is 9 − 3 = 6, and the inclusive count of possible values is 9 − 3 + 1 = 7 (the values 3 through 9).