High School

4, 5, 6, 7, 8, -12

If you take out the outlier, what happens to the range?

A. It decreases
B. It stays the same
C. It increases

Answer :

To determine what happens to the range when we take out the outlier from the list of numbers, let's go through the process step by step:

1. Identify the Numbers: We're given the numbers 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and -12.

2. Determine the Original Range:
- The range of a set of numbers is calculated by subtracting the smallest number from the largest number.
- In this case, the smallest number is -12 and the largest number is 8.
- So, the range with all numbers included is 8 - (-12) = 20.

3. Identify the Outlier:
- An outlier is typically a number that is significantly higher or lower than the other numbers in a set.
- Here, -12 is much smaller than the other numbers, so it can be considered the outlier.

4. Remove the Outlier:
- Once we remove -12 from our list, we are left with the numbers 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

5. Determine the New Range:
- Now, find the smallest and largest numbers from the new list.
- The smallest number is 4 and the largest is 8.
- The range without the outlier is 8 - 4 = 4.

6. Compare the Ranges:
- The original range was 20 and the new range is 4.
- As we can see, the range decreases when the outlier is removed.

Therefore, when the outlier is taken out, the range decreases.