Key Differences Between Range and Interquartile Range

1. What They Mean:

   • Range: This tells us how spread out the numbers in a dataset are. You find it by subtracting the smallest number from the biggest one. $\text{Range} = \text{Maximum} - \text{Minimum}$

   • Interquartile Range (IQR): This is a bit different. It looks at the middle part of the dataset. To find it, you subtract the lower quartile (Q1) from the upper quartile (Q3). $\text{IQR} = Q3 - Q1$

2. How They React to Extreme Values:

   • Range: This value can change a lot if there's an extreme number, known as an outlier. Just one really high or low number can make the range seem much bigger or smaller.

   • IQR: This value doesn’t change much with outliers. It mainly focuses on the middle part of the data, making it a steadier measure.

3. Why They Matter:

   • Range: It helps us see how wide apart the data points are.

   • IQR: It's better for looking at how much the data varies without being affected by those extreme values.