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Outlier/Interquartile Range Calculator

Answer:

Interquartile range: 118
Outlier(s): 62
Potential outlier(s): 240, 846

See the outliers and potential outliers highlighted in the sorted data set here:
62, 240, 508, 518, 526, 540, 552, 554, 563, 572, 574, 604, 630, 636, 644, 658, 684, 684, 846


Solution:

The interquartile range, IQR, is the difference between Q3 and Q1. In this data set, Q3 is 644 and Q1 is 526. Subtract Q1, 526, from Q3, 644. $$ IQR = 644 - 526 = 118 $$ You can use the 5 number summary calculator to learn steps on how to manually find Q1 and Q3.

To find outliers and potential outliers in the data set, we first need to calculate the value of the inner fences and outer fences. The inner fences are defined by: $$ Q1 - (1.5 \cdot IQR) \text{ and } Q3 + (1.5 \cdot IQR) $$ For this data set: $$ 526 - (1.5 \cdot 118) \text{ and } 644 + (1.5 \cdot 118) $$ $$ \text{Inner fences: } 349 \text{ and } 821$$

The outer fences are defined by: $$ Q1 - (3 \cdot IQR) \text{ and } Q3 + (3 \cdot IQR) $$ For this data set: $$ 526 - (3 \cdot 118) \text{ and } 644 + (3 \cdot 118) $$ $$ \text{Outer fences: } 172 \text{ and } 998 $$

The inner and outer fences are listed below. Potential outliers are any values in our data set that fall between the inner fences and outer fences, inclusive. Outliers are any values that fall outside of the outer fences.

Outliers Outer fence Inner fence Inner fence Outer fence Outliers
172 349 821 998

If there are any outliers in this data set, they will either be less than 172 or greater than 998. Potential outliers will be between 172 and 349, inclusive or between 821 and 998, inclusive.

In this data set, the outlier(s) is/are: 62
In this data set, the potential outlier(s) is/are: 240, 846