Question

Which measure of variability—range or IQR—best describes the spread of the dataset?

For a statistics assignment, Shayna randomly surveyed students on how many hours per week they spend playing online games:

1.0 1.0 2.0 6.5 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 12.0 12.5 14.0 14.0 14.0 14.0 15.0 15.0 15.5 16.0 17.5 18.0

IQR; the distribution is skewed, and there are outliers in the dataset.

Explain why the Correct Answer
is the only Correct Answer

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

The correct answer is IQR because it is more robust to outliers than range. In this dataset, there are a few outliers at the higher end of the range (hours per week spent playing online games). These outliers would greatly affect the range measure of variability, making it not an accurate representation of the spread of the dataset. On the other hand, the IQR is less affected by outliers and provides a better description of the variability within the bulk of the data. Additionally, as mentioned, the distribution of the dataset is skewed, further supporting the use of IQR over range.