Five-Number Summary

A five-number summary of a data set consists of the following five values.

1. Minimum value
2. First quartile Q_1
3. Median, or second quartile Q_2
4. Third quartile Q_3
5. Maximum value

These values provide a summary of the central tendency and spread of the data set. The five-number summary is useful for understanding the variability in a data set. When the data set is written in numerical order, the median divides the data set into two halves. The median of the lower half is the first quartile Q_1 and the median of the upper half is the third quartile Q_3.

The five-number summary describes the distribution of data values.

Extra

The five-number summary can be represented with a box plot. Each of the five numbers is labeled accordingly.