What is the range in measures of spread?

The range in measures of spread is the difference between the highest and lowest values in a dataset.

In GCSE Geography, understanding the range helps you analyse data distributions, such as temperature variations or population densities. To calculate the range, you simply subtract the smallest value in your dataset from the largest value. For example, if you are looking at daily temperatures in a week and the highest temperature is 25°C and the lowest is 15°C, the range would be 25°C - 15°C = 10°C.

The range is a basic measure of spread, giving you a quick sense of how much variation there is in your data. However, it doesn't provide information about how the values are distributed between the highest and lowest points. For instance, if most of the temperatures are close to 15°C but one day spikes to 25°C, the range would still be 10°C, which might be misleading.

In geography, you might use the range to compare different datasets. For example, comparing the range of temperatures in two different cities can help you understand which city has more variable weather. While the range is useful, it's often used alongside other measures of spread, like the interquartile range or standard deviation, to give a fuller picture of data variability.