MATHEMATICS REVIEW
Topics: Mean, Median, Mode, Quartile
Conceptual & Computational Questions
1. Finding the Missing Value:
The mean of a dataset consisting of 5 numbers is 12. The numbers are 8, 15, 5, 20, and
x. Calculate the value of x.
2. Outlier Detection:
Consider the dataset: 12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22, 55.
(a) Calculate the Interquartile Range (IQR).
(b) Using the 1.5 × IQR rule, determine mathematically if 55 is an outlier.
3. Reverse Engineering:
A dataset has a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 50. If the range is exactly twice the
Interquartile Range (IQR), and the IQR is 15, calculate the value of the Range. Is this
scenario possible?
4. Effect of Transformations:
A teacher decides to add 5 points to every student’s score in a class. Explain how this
change affects the (a) Mean, (b) Median, and (c) Standard Deviation/IQR of the class
scores.
5. Box Plot Construction:
Given the Five-Number Summary: Min = 2, Q1 = 6, Median = 9, Q3 = 14, Max = 20.
Describe how you would draw the Box-and-Whisker plot. What is the length of the
box?
6. Comparing Distributions:
Two classes took the same test. Class A has a median of 75 and an IQR of 10. Class B
has a median of 75 and an IQR of 30. Which class had more consistent scores? Explain
your reasoning.
7. Mode in Discrete Data:
Create a dataset of 7 numbers that has a mean of 10, a median of 10, but a mode of 14.
8. Weighted Mean:
A student scores 80 on a test worth 20% of the grade, 90 on a midterm worth 30%, and
85 on a final worth 50%. Calculate the final weighted average.
Math Review Date: 23.12.2025 Page 2 of 5
Real-World Applications
9. Real Estate (Mean vs. Median):
In a small neighborhood, 5 houses are sold for: $100k, $110k, $105k, $120k, and $2,500k
(a mansion).
(a) Calculate the Mean and Median prices.
(b) Which measure better represents the "typical" house price in this neighborhood?
Explain why.
10. Retail Inventory (The Utility of Mode):
A shoe store manager records the sizes of shoes sold on Saturday: 7, 7, 8, 8, 8, 8.5, 9, 9,
10, 11.
(a) Find the mean, median, and mode.
(b) Which of these three measures is most useful for the manager when restocking
inventory? Why?
11. Meteorology (Range Consistency):
City A has daily temperatures: 70, 72, 68, 75, 71.
City B has daily temperatures: 50, 90, 60, 80, 70.
Calculate the mean for both cities. Then, use the Range to explain which city has the
more predictable weather.
12. Sports Analysis:
A basketball player scores the following points in her last 9 games: 18, 20, 22, 15, 40, 18, 19, 21, 18.
(a) Find the Median and the Mode.
(b) Does the score "40" significantly impact the median? Explain.
13. Quality Assurance (Box Plots):
A call center aims to have 75% of calls answered within 30 seconds. The data for wait
times is represented by a box plot where Q1 = 10, Median = 15, and Q3 = 28. Did they
meet their goal? Explain based on the definition of quartiles.
14. Corporate Salaries (Skewness):
A startup company lists its salaries. The mean salary is $95,000, but the median salary
is only $55,000. Describe the shape of the salary distribution (Skewed Left, Right, or
Symmetric) and explain what this suggests about the pay structure.
15. Manufacturing Tolerance:
A factory produces bolts. The acceptable length range is defined by the IQR of a sample
batch. If the sample batch is: 10.1, 10.2, 10.5, 10.6, 10.9, 11.0, 11.2, 11.5. Calculate the
IQR. What is the length of the interval containing the middle 50% of the bolts?
16. Grading Curve:
On a difficult math exam, the quartiles were: Q1 = 40, Median = 55, Q3 = 70. The
teacher decides that any student scoring in the top 25% gets an ’A’. What is the mini-
mum score required to get an ’A’?
17. Agriculture (Growth Monitoring):
A farmer measures the height of 10 corn stalks (in cm): 120, 125, 118, 130, 122, 160, 124, 128, 121, 122.
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Math Review Date: 23.12.2025 Page 3 of 5
(a) Create the Five-Number Summary for this data.
(b) Interpret the meaning of the Median in this context.
18. Digital Marketing:
A website tracks daily visitors for a week: 500, 1200, 550, 600, 520, 580, 510.
(a) Identify the outlier.
(b) What might this outlier represent in a real-world scenario (e.g., a viral post, a
glitch)?
19. Savings Goals:
John saves money weekly: $20, $25, $15, $30, $20. He wants his average (mean) savings
over 6 weeks to be $25. How much must he save in the 6th week to achieve this?
20. Medical Recovery Times:
Two medications are tested for recovery time (in days).
Drug A: Mean = 7 days, Range = 2 days.
Drug B: Mean = 7 days, Range = 10 days.
As a doctor, which drug would you recommend if reliability (predictability) is the most
important factor? Explain.
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Math Review Date: 23.12.2025 Page 4 of 5
Detailed Solutions & Answer Key
1. Answer: x = 12.
x̄ = ∑nx ⇒ 12 = 8+15+55+20+ x .
60 = 48 + x ⇒ x = 12.
2. Answer:
(a) Q1 = 14, Q3 = 22. IQR = 22 − 14 = 8.
(b) Upper Fence = Q3 + 1.5( IQR) = 22 + 1.5(8) = 22 + 12 = 34.
Since 55 > 34, yes, 55 is an outlier.
3. Answer: Range = 30.
Given IQR = 15. Range = 2 × IQR = 30.
Check: Max − Min = 50 − 10 = 40.
The calculated Range (30) does not match the actual data range (40). This scenario de-
scribes an impossible or contradictory condition given the Min/Max values provided.
4. Answer:
(a) Mean: Increases by 5.
(b) Median: Increases by 5.
(c) IQR/Std Dev: Remains unchanged (Measures of spread do not change with ad-
dition).
5. Answer: Draw a number line. Mark a whisker from 2 to 6. Draw a rectangular box
from 6 to 14. Draw a vertical line inside the box at 9. Mark a whisker from 14 to 20.
Length of the box is the IQR: 14 − 6 = 8.
6. Answer: Class A.
A smaller IQR (10 vs 30) indicates that the middle 50% of the data is less spread out.
Therefore, Class A’s scores are more consistent (clustered closer to the median).
7. Answer: Example: 2, 6, 10, 10, 14, 14, 14.
Mean = 70/7 = 10. Median (4th number) = 10. Mode = 14 (appears 3 times).
8. Answer: 85.5.
Calculation : (80 × 0.2) + (90 × 0.3) + (85 × 0.5) = 16 + 27 + 42.5 = 85.5.
9. Answer:
(a) Mean = $587, 000. Median = $110, 000.
(b) The Median. The mean is heavily skewed by the outlier ($2.5M mansion), making
it unrepresentative of the "typical" houses which are around $100k-$120k.
10. Answer:
(a) Mean ≈ 8.75, Median = 8.75, Mode = 8.
(b) The Mode. A shoe store needs to know which size sells the most frequent (size 8)
to keep it in stock. The arithmetic average size (8.75) is not a physical shoe size.
11. Answer: Both means are 70. City A is more predictable.
Range A: 75 − 68 = 7. Range B: 90 − 50 = 40.
City A has a much smaller variation in temperature.
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Math Review Date: 23.12.2025 Page 5 of 5
12. Answer:
(a) Ordered: 15, 18, 18, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 40. Median = 19. Mode = 18.
(b) No. The median is determined by position. Changing the highest value (40) to
100 or 500 would not change the value of the middle number (19).
13. Answer: Yes.
Q3 = 28 seconds. By definition, 75% of the data lies below Q3 . This means 75% of calls
were answered in 28 seconds or less, which meets the "within 30 seconds" goal.
14. Answer: Skewed Right.
When Mean (95k) is significantly higher than the Median (55k), it indicates high out-
liers pulling the average up. This suggests a structure where a few executives earn
very high salaries while most employees earn around $55k.
15. Answer: IQR = 0.8.
Ordered: 10.1, 10.2, 10.5, 10.6, |10.9, 11.0, 11.2, 11.5.
Q1 = (10.2 + 10.5)/2 = 10.35.
Q3 = (11.0 + 11.2)/2 = 11.1.
Interval length (IQR) = 11.1 − 10.35 = 0.75 (approx 0.8 depending on quartile method
used).
16. Answer: Score of 70.
The top 25% of data lies above the third quartile (Q3 ). Since Q3 = 70, students scoring
70 or higher are in the top quarter.
17. Answer:
(a) Min=118, Q1 = 121, Median=123, Q3 = 128, Max=160.
(b) It means that half of the corn stalks are shorter than 123 cm, and half are taller
than 123 cm.
18. Answer:
(a) Outlier: 1200. (Others are around 500-600).
(b) It could represent a marketing campaign launch, a viral social media post, or a
bot attack on the website.
19. Answer: $40.
Total needed = 25 × 6 = 150.
Current sum = 20 + 25 + 15 + 30 + 20 = 110.
Need = 150 − 110 = 40.
20. Answer: Drug A.
Although both have the same mean recovery time, Drug A has a much smaller range
(2 days) compared to Drug B (10 days). Drug A is more consistent and reliable.
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