6.SP.A.3: Center vs. variation

Also written as 6.SP.3

Recognize that a measure of center for a numerical data set summarizes all of its values with a single number, while a measure of variation describes how its values vary with a single number.

In plain words: Students see that a measure of center, like the median, sums up a data set in one number, while a measure of variation, like the range, tells how much the values differ.

Quick picks

Common mistake
Using the wrong kind of measure: answering "How much do commute times vary?" with the mean commute instead of a range or IQR.
Builds on
6.SP.A.2Center, spread, and shape
Leads to
6.SP.B.5Summarizing data in context
Example Problems
What is the mean of the following numbers?
What is the median of the following numbers?
What is the mode of the following numbers?
Khan Academy Resources
Mean as the balancing pointCalculating the meanReading dot plots & frequency tablesStatistics intro: Mean, median, & modeImpact on median & mean: removing an outlierRepresenting dataImpact on median & mean: increasing an outlier
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