9/27/22, 9:41 AM Lesson Explainer: Comparing Two Distributions Using Box Plots | Nagwa

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Lesson Explainer: Comparing Two Lesson Menu

Distributions Using Box Plots  Lesson

Mathematics
 Lesson Plan

In this explainer, we will learn how to compare two data set

 Lesson Video
distributions using box plots.

Box plots, which are sometimes called box-and-whisker plots, can  Lesson
Explainer
be a good way to visualize differences among groups that have
been measured on the same variable.  Lesson Playlist
Before we look at comparing data sets using box plots, however,
 Lesson
let us remind ourselves of the key elements of a box plot.
Worksheet

Key Elements: Box Plots

A box plot is constructed using the minimum and maximum
quartiles (Q1 and Q3) and the median of a data set.

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The horizontal axis covers all possible data values.

The box part of a box-and-whisker plot covers the
middle 50% of the values in the data set. This 50% of
the data lies between Q1 and Q3 and its range is the
interquartile range,
IQR = Q3 − Q1 .
The whiskers each cover 25% of the data values.
The lower whisker covers all the data values
from the minimum value up to Q1, that is, the
lowest 25% of data values.
The upper whisker covers all the data values
between Q3 and the maximum value, that is, the
highest 25% of data values.

The median sits within the box and represents the

center of the data. 50% of the data values lie above the
median and 50% lie below the median.

Outliers, or extreme values in a data set, are usually

indicated on a box-and-whisker plot by the “star” symbol. If
there is one or more outliers in a data set, for the purpose of
drawing a box-and-whisker plot, we take the minimum and
maximum to be the minimum and maximum values of the
data set excluding the outliers.

Let us look at some examples of how to use two box plots to

compare two data sets on the same variable.

Example 1: Comparing Data Sets on the Same

Measurement Using Box Plots
It is thought that taking math tests in the morning results in
higher grades than if tests are taken in the afternoon. Do the
data represented in the box plots below confirm this
hypothesis or not?

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Answer
In the box plot for tests taken in the morning, the median
score (the vertical line inside the box) sits above the axis
approximately at the 87.5 mark, whereas the median for the
scores of tests taken in the afternoon sits above about 75 on
the axis.

We can therefore conclude that since the median score for

morning tests is higher than that for afternoon tests, on
average, morning math test scores are higher.

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Box plots are often but not always drawn with the variable values
on the horizontal axis. Our next example has the
variable values
on the vertical axis.

Example 2: Comparing Internet Searches for

Cats and Dogs Using Box Plots
It has long been thought that cats are the most popular
internet pet. To test this theory, data were collected by a
well-
known search engine on the number of searches for cat-
related videos and dog-related videos each month
over a five-
year period. The results are represented in the box plots
below.

Use the information illustrated in the box plots to determine

whether or not cats are indeed the premier internet
pet.

Answer
To decide whether or not cats are more popular than dogs in
internet searches, we want to know, on average,
which pet
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has the highest number of searches. The measure of average

(or central tendency) that we have
available from the box
plots is the median. This is shown by the line inside each
box. In this case, the median
lines are horizontal, since the
variable values are on the vertical axis.

By reading across from the median lines to the vertical axis,

we can find the values of the medians for cat and dog
searches.

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The median number of searches for cats per month appears

to be approximately 15.5 million, whereas for dogs
it is
approximately 19 million. Since, on average, the number of
searches for dogs per month was higher, we can conclude
that the data disproves the theory! In fact, in online
searches
for videos of them, dogs are on average the most popular pet,
not cats.

Example 3: Comparing Track Length Using Box

Plots
The box plots below represent data collected on the length of
recorded tracks from the top 100 rap and the top 100 heavy
metal music charts.

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1. On average, which genre of music has longer tracks?

2. Compare the significance of the track length
4.40 minutes for the two music genres.

Answer
Part 1

The measure of average used in a box plot is the median,

which is the vertical bar inside the box.

The median track length for rap tracks is 4.00 minutes,

whereas the median for heavy metal tracks is 4.80 minutes.
Since the median for heavy metal tracks is higher than that
for Rap tracks, we can conclude that heavy metal tracks are
on average longer than rap tracks.

Part 2

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For rap music tracks, 4.40 minutes is where the right-hand

vertical bar of the box sits. This represents the value of Q3,
the third quartile for rap.

This means that 75% of rap tracks are less than 4.40 minutes
long and only 25% are longer than 4.40 minutes.

For heavy metal tracks, however, 4.40 minutes represents

Q1, the first quartile.

This means that 25% of heavy metal tracks are shorter than
4.40 minutes long and 75% of the tracks are longer than
4.40 minutes.

Hence, while 75% of rap tracks are shorter than

4.40 minutes, 75% of heavy
metal tracks are longer than
4.40 minutes.
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In our next two examples, we compare the distributions of two

data sets on the same variable using box plots.

Example 4: Comparing Lion Miles Using Box

Plots
Using special tracker collars, the number of miles
the
Namibian lions Ramy and Mona traveled each night was
recorded over a month. The data is represented in the box
plots below.

Referring to the box plots, compare the number of

milesRamy and Mona traveled at night during the month.

Answer
We can see that Ramy and Mona traveled similar ranges of
miles
at night. Ramy traveled between 2 and 17 miles
a
night. Mona traveled between 2 and 15 miles
a night.

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Since Ramy’s box in the plot is wider than Mona’s, we can

say that Ramy’s distances varied further from his middle
traveling distance than Mona’s did. The width of the box is
the interquartile range (Q3–Q1), which
represents 50% of the
data. Interpreting this from our plots, on half the nights,
Ramy traveled between 4 and 10 miles, compared to Mona,
who traveled between 9 and 12 miles.

Mona’s median distance of 11 miles

was a few miles higher
than Ramy’s, which was 5 miles. So, we can say
that, on
average, Mona traveled further than Ramy.

If we look within each box, notice that the box to the left of
Ramy’s median is narrower than the box to the right of the
median. Also note that his left whisker is shorter than his
right whisker (i.e., the whiskers attached to the box, not
Ramy’s actual whiskers!). Both of these features tell us that
Ramy traveled shorter distances, less than
5 miles, 50% of the
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time, whereas Mona traveled longer distances, more than

11 miles
(Mona’s median), 50% of the time.

Let us look at Ramy’s box plot separately, in more detail.

We can see that 50% of Ramy’s distances were concentrated

between 2 miles
(the minimum) and 5 miles
(the median)
and that half of those were concentrated between 4 miles
(Q1) and 5 miles (the median). The other
50% of Ramy’s
distances were over a bigger spread of values: 25% between 5
(median) and 10 (Q3) miles and
25% between 10 (Q3) and 17
(the maximum)
miles.

Similarly, for Mona (as shown in the box plot below), 25% of
the time her distances were concentrated between 11 (her
median) and 12 (Q3)
miles. And 25% were between 12 (Q3)
and 15 miles, her maximum distance.

The lower half of her distances were spread over a wider

range of distances: 25% between 2 (her minimum) and

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9 miles
(Q1) and 25% between 9 (Q1) miles
and her median,
11 miles.

In statistical terms, the concentration of half of Ramy’s data

in a small range of lower values means that Ramy’s
distances were right (or positively) skewed. And since half of
Mona’s data were concentrated in a narrow but
quite high
range, Mona’s distances were left (or negatively) skewed. A
third possibility is that if, in a box plot,
the box is split evenly
on either side of the median and the whiskers are
approximately the same length, the data
is symmetric.

Note
We have compared three different statistical measures in this
example: the shape, average and spread
of the data. When
looking at whether or not a data set is skewed (or
symmetric), we are looking at the shape of
the data. When
considering the median, we are talking about the “average”
and when looking at the range and
interquartile range, we
are considering the spread of the data.

Example 5: Comparing WNBA and NBA Scores

Using Box Plots
The box plots below represent the WNBA and NBA winning
scores over a particular season.

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Compare the distributions for WNBA and NBA winning

scores.

Answer
In comparing the distributions, we will look at the “shape”,
“average,” and “spread” of each data set and compare. We
start with the “average” and the first thing to note that the
median WNBA score is around 85 and the median NBA
score is somewhat higher, at approximately 114. In general,
then, we can say that the NBA winning scores are higher
than those for the WNBA.

The next thing we look at is the spread of the two data sets,
using the range and the interquartile range (IQR). WNBA
scores range from a low of 70 to a high of 110, so their range
is 110 − 70 = 40 , whereas the lowest NBA score is 100 and
the highest,
approximately, is 128, with a calculated range of
128 − 100 = 28 . Hence, overall, the WNBA results have a
wider spread than those for the NBA.
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Similarly, we can compare the interquartile ranges, which

are given by IQR = Q3 − Q1 .

The WNBA interquartile range, that is, the spread of the

middle 50% of the WNBA data, is 20, which is twice that of
the middle 50% of the NBA data, where the IQR is 10. So the
WNBA winning scores are spread much more widely about
the center than the NBA winning scores. Another way of
saying this is that the NBA scores are clustered closer around
the middle value than the WNBA scores.

We can note also that neither the WNBA or the NBA

winning scores appear to have any outliers.

One final thing to consider is the “shape” of the data. We are

looking for whether the data are approximately symmetric

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about their center or the distribution is skewed in a

particular direction. We can tell this to some extent by
looking at both the whiskers and the boxes in the box plots.

For the WNBA data, the left whisker is shorter than the
right. This indicates that the data is a little right (or
positively) skewed. That is, the lower scores are more
concentrated within a narrower range of values than those in
the higher range. The box itself is symmetric on either side
of the median, however, so the data is not heavily skewed.
For the NBA data, the whiskers are approximately equal and
there is only a small lack of symmetry on either side of the
median inside the box, indicating that the data is more or
less symmetric about the center.

In conclusion, the WNBA winning scores and those for the

NBA differ in shape, average, and spread. While the WNBA
winning scores are, on average, lower than those of the NBA,
the WNBA winning scores have a much larger spread
around the center. Also, the WNBA scores are slightly
positively skewed, more concentrated at the lower end of the
scores, whereas the NBA winning scores are approximately
symmetric about their center.

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Let us now summarize the key points associated with comparing

data sets using box plots.

Key Points
When comparing the distributions of two data sets on the
same measurement using box plots, we can compare the
“shape”, “average,” and “spread” of the data sets.

Shape: The shape of a data set refers to whether or not

it is symmetric or skewed. If a data set is distributed
symmetrically about the center, the box should be
approximately evenly split by the median and the
whiskers should approximately be of equal length.

If a data set is skewed (i.e., more concentrated at one

end than the other), then one of the whiskers will be
longer than the other and the box will not be evenly
split by the median.
If a data set is right or positively skewed, then
the right whisker will be longer than the left and
the boxes on the right side will be longer than
those on the left.
If a data set is left or negatively skewed, then
the left whisker will be longer than the right and
the boxes on the left side are longer than on the
right.

Average: In a box plot, the measure of average used is

the median. This is represented by the vertical line
inside the box. Comparing the medians of two data
sets, we can determine in which data set the values are
“on average” higher or lower than in the other, or if
there is no difference on average.
Spread: The spread of the data sets can be compared
by looking at the ranges (maximum value, minimum
value) and the interquartile ranges (Q3–Q1).

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The range tells us the overall spread of each

data set.
The interquartile range tells us the spread of
the middle 50% of the data, that is, how far the
middle 50% of the data deviates from the center.

Note
Box plots can be used to compare multiple data sets where
the values are measurements of the same variable. Also, box
plots can be drawn vertically as opposed to horizontally, as
illustrated below.

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