Understanding Quartiles

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About This MicroSim

This visualization shows how quartiles divide a distribution into four equal parts: - Q1 (First Quartile): 25% of data falls below this value - Q2 (Median): 50% of data falls below this value - Q3 (Third Quartile): 75% of data falls below this value

How to Use

• Adjust the Sample Size slider to see how quartiles change with more or fewer points
• Click Randomize to generate a new random dataset
• Toggle between Even Spacing and Realistic Data modes
• Hover over regions to highlight them
• Click on Q1, Median, or Q3 markers to see calculation details

Lesson Plan

Learning Objective

Students will identify and interpret quartiles as values that divide a distribution into four equal parts (Bloom's Taxonomy: Understanding).

Discussion Questions

1. Why does each colored region contain approximately 25% of the data?
2. What happens to the quartile positions when you increase the sample size?
3. How would outliers affect the quartile positions?