Question

How do outliers affect a box and whisker plot?

Answer 1

Hint: For solving this type of question we should know about the box and the whisker plot and the outliers. The box and the whisker plot which is also known as box-plot, displays the summary of five numbers of a set of data. The outlier is defined as the data point which is located outside the whiskers of the box-plot.

Complete step by step answer:
According to the question we have to find how the outliers affect a box and whisker plot.

A box and whisker plot, (also called a box-plot) shows the five number summary of a set of data: minimum, lower quartile, median, upper quartile and maximum. The outliers are important because they are the numbers which are ‘outside’ the box-plot’s upper and lower fence though they don’t affect or change any other numbers available in the box-plot and your instructor will still want you to find them. If you want to find your fences or box-plot then you will first take your InterQuartile range (IQR) and you have to multiply it by 1.5 and this is called your ‘magic number’.
The upper fence is calculated by adding the magic number in the upper quartile. The lower fence is calculated by subtracting the lower quartile from the magic number. The numbers which are ‘outside’ the lower and upper quartile fences are considered as outliers and these don't change anything in the box-plot.
Thus, the outlier affects the box-plot.

Note: In these types of questions of whisker plot you should arrange them in ascending order, then you have to find your median and then you have to calculate the lower quartile and upper quartile and then find lower fence and upper fence and then the rest digits will be your outliers.