Varp, 302 varp – Apple iWork '09 User Manual
Page 302
VARP
The VARP function returns the population (true) variance, a measure of dispersion, of a
collection of values.
VARP(num-date, num-date…)
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num-date: A value. num-date is a number value or a date/time value.
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num-date…: Optionally include one or more additional values. If more than one
num-date value is specified, all must be of the same type.
Usage Notes
The VARP function finds the population, or true, variance (as opposed to the sample,
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or unbiased, variance) by dividing the sum of the squares of the deviations of the
data points by the number of values.
It is appropriate to use VARP when the specified values represent the entire
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collection or population. If the values you are analyzing represent only a sample of a
larger population, use the VAR function.
If you want to include text or Boolean values in the computation, use the VARPA
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function.
The square root of the variance returned by the VARP function is returned by the
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STDEVP function.
Example
Assume you have administered five tests to a group of students. You have a very small class and this
represents the total population of your students. Using this population data, you could use the VARP
function to determine which test had the widest dispersion of test scores.
The results of the VARP functions are approximately 416.00, 481.60, 72.24, 52.16, and 8.96. So test 2 had
the highest dispersion, followed closely by test 1. The other three tests had low dispersion.
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
Test 4
Test 5
Student 1
75
82
90
78
84
Student 2
100
90
95
88
90
Student 3
40
80
78
90
85
Student 4
80
35
95
98
92
Student 5
75
82
90
78
84
=VARP(B2:B6)
=VARP(C2:C6)
=VARP(D2:D6)
=VARP(E2:E6)
=VARP(F2:F6)
Related Topics
For related functions and additional information, see:
302
Chapter 10
Statistical Functions