VAR.S
Estimate the variance of a population from a sample — the square of the sample standard deviation.
Syntax
VAR.S(number1, [number2], ...)| Argument | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
number1 | Required | A range or value from the sample. |
number2 | Optional | Further ranges or values. |
Examples
Every example below was executed against VisiGrid engine 0.54.0 — not
transcribed from another vendor's documentation. Reproduce any of them with vgrid calc.
| Formula | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|
=VAR.S(A2:A9) | 4.57 | 32 (the sum of squared distances from the mean) divided by n − 1 = 7. |
=VAR.P(A2:A9) | 4 | The population version divides by n = 8. |
=STDEV.S(A2:A9)^2 | 4.57 | Variance is the standard deviation squared. |
=VAR.S(5) | #DIV/0! |
Variance or standard deviation?
They carry the same information. Variance is in squared units — dollars
squared, seconds squared — which makes it awkward to read but convenient to
combine: the variances of independent quantities add, and standard deviations
do not. Report STDEV.S; calculate with VAR.S when
you are adding sources of variation together.
Sample or population
As with standard deviation, the .S version divides by n − 1 and is the
right default for data that samples something larger. Use
VAR.P for complete data. VAR is
the pre-2010 name for VAR.S.
Excel compatibility
Matches Excel, including skipping text and logical values in ranges and #DIV/0! for fewer than two values.