Label the Parts of a Box and Whisker Plot

All 11 parts on the diagram

Show the list

The five numbers 5

Minimum The smallest value in the data set. The left whisker ends here, at 3.
First quartile (Q1) The lower half of the data's median. It is the box's left side, here at 6. Also called the lower quartile.
Median The middle value of the data set. Half of the values lie on each side of it. Here it is 10.
Third quartile (Q3) The upper half of the data's median. It is the box's right side, here at 16. Also called the upper quartile.
Maximum The largest value in the data set. The right whisker ends here, at 19.

Box, whiskers and line 3

Box The box holds the data's middle half. It runs from the first quartile to the third quartile.
Whiskers The two lines that run out from the box. One reaches the minimum and the other the maximum.
Number line The plot is drawn above this line of numbers. Each of the five numbers is read off it. It is also called the axis.

Spread and outlier 3

Interquartile range How far the first quartile is from the third. It is the length of the box: here 12 − 6 = 6.
Range The largest value minus the smallest value. The outlier is the largest value here, so the range is 24 − 4 = 20.
Outlier A value far from the rest of the data. It is drawn as a point past the end of the whisker.

How this list was compiled: Every name was read on 2026-10-03 in at least two of these. (1) Wikipedia, English edition, Box plot, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_plot (the five-number summary: minimum, maximum, median, first and third quartiles, also called the lower and upper quartile; the box drawn from Q1 to Q3 with a line at the median; the lines called whiskers; the interquartile range as the gap from lower to upper quartile; whiskers within 1.5 IQR and the other points plotted as outliers), and Range (statistics), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range_(statistics) (largest value minus smallest value). (2) Statistics Canada, Statistics: Power from Data!, 4.5.2 Visualizing the box and whisker plot, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/edu/power-pouvoir/ch12/5214889-eng.htm, and 4.5.1 Calculating the range and interquartile range, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/edu/power-pouvoir/ch12/5214890-eng.htm (minimum, lower quartile Q1, median Q2, upper quartile Q3, maximum; the sides of the box are the quartiles and the box covers 50% of the data; the whiskers are the two lines beyond the box; an axis that indicates the values; the range is the maximum less the minimum and grows when an extreme value is added; points past 1.5 times the interquartile range drawn as potential outliers). (3) NIST/SEMATECH e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, 1.3.3.7 Box Plot, a United States government work, https://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook/eda/section3/boxplot.htm (median, lower and upper quartiles, the box as the middle 50% of the data, lines to the minimum and maximum points, the interquartile range, outliers). (4) California Department of Education, California Common Core State Standards: Mathematics, https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/ccssmathstandardaug2013.pdf (grade 6: data displayed in plots on a number line, including box plots; glossary: box plot, first quartile, third quartile, interquartile range; a note that many methods for computing quartiles are in use). (5) An open-license grade 6 lesson on box plots, https://im.kendallhunt.com/MS/students/1/8/16/index.html (a box plot shows data along a number line; a whisker runs from Q1 to the minimum and from Q3 to the maximum; the box is the data's middle half). Hints, detail lines and both data sets are our own. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-10-03. Own work. Licence: own work

How it works

To label the parts of a box and whisker plot, write a name on the line for each number. Numbers 1 to 8 are on the top plot and 9 to 11 on the lower one.

Read the full guide

Box and whisker plot word bank

In alphabetical order, to copy onto the board: box, first quartile (Q1), interquartile range, maximum, median, minimum, number line, outlier, range, third quartile (Q3), whiskers.

The names that get swapped

Numbers 2 and 4 are the two sides of the box. Quartiles are counted from the small end of the number line, so the left side is the first quartile and the right side the third. Number 6 sits inside the rectangle and is the box itself. Number 7 hangs from a whisker, while 1 and 5 mark where the whiskers end. On the lower plot the short bracket, 9, is as long as the box: the interquartile range. The long one, 10, is the range.

When marking, also accept lower quartile for the first quartile, upper quartile for the third and axis for the number line.
For a shorter sheet, set Start from to The five numbers: only minimum, first quartile, median, third quartile and maximum keep a number.

Questions and answers

Is a box plot the same as a box and whisker plot?

Yes. Box plot is the short name. The lines that run out from the box are called whiskers, which is why the same drawing is also called a box-and-whisker plot or a box-and-whisker diagram.

Can a box and whisker plot be vertical?

Yes. A box plot can be drawn horizontally, as on this sheet, or vertically. The parts keep the same names either way.

What percent of the data is in each section of a box plot?

About 25% each. The first quartile marks one quarter of the ordered values, the median one half and the third quartile three quarters. So each whisker, with any outlier past it, and each of the box's two sections covers about a quarter of the values.

Does the box and whisker plot worksheet have an answer key?

Yes. The key prints both plots with their numbers and lists the eleven names in order, from minimum to outlier.