Range is defined as what?

• A. The upper and lower limits of a series of numbers
• B. The middle value
• C. The sum of the values
• D. The average of the extremes

Answer: (A)

Range tells you how spread out the data are by looking at how far apart the smallest and largest values are. It’s the difference between the maximum and the minimum in the data set—the span from the lower limit to the upper limit. For example, if the values go from 4 to 18, the range is 18 minus 4, which equals 14. The middle value is the median, the sum is a total, and the average of the extremes gives the midrange (a related but different measure). Thus, the range is best described as the spread between the upper and lower limits.