Grade 6 · Math

6th grade Center, spread and shape of data worksheet

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Center, spread and shape of data

Grade 6 Math Worksheet

NameDate

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

Ari made a dot plot of the number of books in the backpacks of some children. Some backpacks were stuffed to the zipper. What is the smallest value in the data?
Jun plotted the number of pages that some children read in one evening. One reader fell asleep early. The peak is the value with the most dots. What value is the peak?
Kira made a dot plot of the distances, in meters, that some paper airplanes flew. One plane caught a lucky breeze. The peak is the value with the most dots. What value is the peak?
Luz plotted the number of bottles collected for recycling by some classes. One class collected a giant pile. The peak is the value with the most dots. What value is the peak?
Noah made a dot plot of the heights, in centimeters, of some sunflower seedlings. The seedlings stretched toward the sun. What is the range of the data?
Tala made a dot plot of the number of books that some children borrowed from the library this month. Some children left with a tall stack. What is the range of the data?
Ari made a dot plot of the number of times some children jumped rope without stopping. Somebody lost count and started over. How many dots are there in all?
Bo made a dot plot of the number of cousins of some children. How many dots are there in all?
Noah plotted the number of library trips that some children made this year. The plot has two clusters (groups of dots close together) and a gap. How many dots are in the left cluster?
Ren plotted the number of rope jumps that some children made in a minute. The plot has two clusters (groups of dots close together) and a gap. How many dots are in the left cluster?

6th grade Center, spread and shape of data worksheet – printable — Print: 1 2 3 4 5 6

About this worksheet

Describing a data set. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

I can read the smallest value, the peak (the value with the most dots) and the range off a dot plot.
I can find a gap (an empty space between dots), a cluster and an outlier, and I know the empty start of the number line is not a gap and not data.
I can describe a dot plot in a sentence: where it runs from and to, where the dots bunch up, any gap, cluster or outlier.
I can find the range without an outlier, and I can say when the median is a better typical value than the mean.

Standard: 6.SP.A.2, 6.SP.A.3, 6.SP.B.5d

Words to know

dot plot: A number line with one dot for each value. Equal values stack up.

peak: The value with the tallest stack of dots. It is the mode.

range: How far the data stretch: biggest value minus smallest value.

gap: An empty space between two dots. The empty start of the line is not a gap.

cluster: A group of dots close together.

outlier: A dot far away from all the others.

typical value: A number that tells where most of the dots are.

median, mean: Median: the middle dot. Mean: the balance point of the dots. (Worked out in the next topic.)

Common mistakes

Your child gave the biggest value as the range. The range is how far the data stretch, so you subtract.

Your child treated the empty start of the number line as if it were data (or called it a gap). A gap is an empty space between two dots. Have them touch the first dot with a pencil: the smallest value is there, not at 0.

Your child picked a gap that is not the biggest. Ask them to compare the space between every pair of neighboring dots and find the widest one.

What to say

Ask: how far is it from the smallest dot to the biggest dot?

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with center, spread and shape of data?

Your child gave the biggest value as the range. The range is how far the data stretch, so you subtract.

How can I help my child with center, spread and shape of data?

Ask: how far is it from the smallest dot to the biggest dot?

Are these 6th grade math worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

More grade 6 math

See all grade 6 math

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