Spreadsheet Functions

A spreadsheet function is a predefined formula. Excel, the most popular spreadsheet, has several categories of functions, including one labeled statistical.

One of the most simple of these functions is AVERAGE, which computes the average of a set of values. For example, the following statement averages the numbers in cells A1 through A3:

The name of the function is AVERAGE, and the argument is A1:A3n.

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A similar common function produces the sum of a set of cells:

In both cases, the results of these calculations are placed in the cell that contains the statement of the function. For example, to use the SUM (or any other) function, follow these steps:

1.
Enter the function in the cell where you want the results to appear.
2.
Enter the range of cells you want the function to operate on.
3.
Press the Enter key, and voila! There you have it. Figure 1 shows the function, the argument, and the result.

Functions can be entered directly when the name of the function and its syntax are known or by means of the Insert command. Some selected Excel functions that perform statistical operations are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Excel Functions and What They Do
Function Name	What It Does
AVERAGE	Returns the average of its arguments
CHIDIST	Returns the one-tailed probability of the chi-square distribution
CHITEST	Returns the test for independence
CORREL	Returns the correlation coefficient between two data sets
FDIST	Returns the F probability distribution
FORECAST	Returns a value along a linear trend
FREQUENCY	Returns a frequency distribution as a vertical array
FTEST	Returns the result of an F test
GEOMEAN	Returns the geometric mean
KURT	Returns the kurtosis of a data set
LINEST	Returns the parameters of a linear trend
MEDIAN	Returns the median of the given numbers
MODE	Returns the most common value in a data set
NORMDIST	Returns the normal cumulative distribution
NORMSDIST	Returns the standard normal cumulative distribution
PEARSON	Returns the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient
QUARTILE	Returns the quartile of a data set
SKEW	Returns the skewness of a distribution
SLOPE	Returns the slope of the linear regression line
STANDARDIZE	Returns a normalized value
STDEV	Estimates standard deviation based on a sample
STDEVA	Estimates standard deviation based on a sample, including numbers, text, and logical values
STDEVP	Calculates standard deviation based on the entire population
STDEVPA	Calculates standard deviation based on the entire population, including numbers, text, and logical values
STEYX	Returns the standard error of the predicted y-value for each x in the regression
TDIST	Returns the Student t distribution
TREND	Returns values along a linear trend
TTEST	Returns the probability associated with a Student t test
VAR	Estimates variance based on a sample
VARA	Estimates variance based on a sample, including numbers, text, and logical values
VARP	Calculates variance based on the entire population
VARPA	Calculates variance based on the entire population, including numbers, text, and logical values

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