The range in statistics and math is the difference between the highest and lowest values in a data set. It measures the spread or variability of the data by subtracting the smallest value from the largest value. For example, in the set {4, 6, 9, 3, 7}, the lowest value is 3 and the highest is 9, so the range is 9−3=69-3=69−3=6

. The range is a simple measure of variability but can sometimes be misleading if there are extreme values (outliers) in the data, which can inflate the range without reflecting the typical spread of most data points

. In addition to statistics, "range" can also refer to the set of all possible output values of a function

. To calculate the range:

• Order the data from smallest to largest.
• Subtract the smallest value from the largest value.

The range is always zero or positive since it is a difference between two values

. In summary, the range is a basic and quick way to understand how spread out a data set is by looking at the difference between its maximum and minimum values.