How do you calculate range in a data set?

The calculation of the range in a data set is determined by subtracting the lowest number from the highest number. This process provides a simple measure of variability by indicating the spread of scores within the data set.

Range is effectively the difference between the maximum and minimum values, which helps in understanding the extent of variability or dispersion. A larger range indicates a wider spread of values, while a smaller range suggests that the values are closer together.

The other methods mentioned do not accurately capture this measure of spread: simply adding the lowest and highest numbers does not reflect the difference between them, averaging these numbers provides a central tendency rather than a measure of spread, and identifying the median and mode focuses on specific data points instead of addressing overall variability.