Box Plots | Mystery Detective Worksheets | Grades 6–8 | Median Quartiles and IQR

Box plot activities, box and whisker plot worksheets, and five-number summary practice for 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade are all included in this printable Mini Mystery Detective pack of math worksheets for data analysis. Students read median, quartiles, range, and interquartile range straight off drawn box plots to catch a villain, making it perfect for statistics units, data analysis review, test prep, early finishers, and sub days. Completely no prep - just print and go.

What's Inside

• Reading the five-number summary off a box plot: minimum, lower quartile (Q1), median, upper quartile (Q3), and maximum
• Finding the range of a data set from the two ends of the whiskers
• Finding the interquartile range (IQR) as Q3 minus Q1, and using it as a measure of spread
• Measuring whisker lengths and the two halves of the box to describe how the data is spread out
• Using quartiles to work out how many values sit above Q3, below Q1, and inside the box
• Comparing two box plots: median against median, IQR against IQR, and range against range
• Completing a five-number summary table from a plot, with most cells left blank to be read off the graph
• Reading number lines with different scales, from two-digit values up to values in the hundreds

Ten one-page detective cases, each built around two box and whisker plots drawn on one shared number line, plus a red-ink answer key for every case.

The Ten Cases

• The Bus Lane Blunder
• The Swim Meet Swap
• The Canteen Caper
• The Track Day Tangle
• The Music Room Mix
• The Game Night Grift
• The Field Trip File
• The Science Fair Fix
• The Locker Room Leak
• The Pizza Stall Job

Answer keys included for every case.

Built-In Differentiation

The ten cases climb deliberately, so one pack covers a whole mixed-ability class. The first cases ask students to read a single mark off a plot and take one difference, and never ask them to relate the two plots to each other. The interquartile range is introduced part way through, then quartile counts, then comparing the two data sets directly. By the last cases students are comparing spread against spread on larger data sets and wider scales. Hand a struggling student case one and a confident student case ten from the same pack, on the same day.

What is a Mini Mystery Detective?

A Mystery Detective is an escape room without the locks. Every case is one printable page: students solve the problems, match each answer to a suspect's ID badge, and cross that suspect off the line-up. One badge matches nothing, so the suspect left standing is the villain. It is completely self-checking - correct work leaves exactly one suspect, and a mistake leaves two or none, so students know to go back and check before you ever see the page.

When to Use This Resource

• Math centers and stations
• Morning work and bell ringers
• Early finishers
• Emergency sub plans
• Homework
• Statistics and data analysis unit review
• State test prep
• Small group and intervention

Grade Levels

Designed for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade statistics and data analysis. The early cases are also beneficial for advanced 5th graders meeting box plots for the first time, and the later comparison cases work well as review for struggling 9th graders.

Why Teachers Love Mystery Detectives

• Zero prep - print and hand out
• Self-checking, so students catch their own errors instead of waiting for you
• The detective hook holds attention through a full page of statistics practice
• Real rigor, not a coloring page with a few questions attached
• One pack differentiates across a whole mixed-ability class
• Every plot is drawn to scale on a labeled number line, so students practice reading a real graph

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