Syntax
VAR.P(value1, [value2, ...])
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| value1 | Parameter of the VAR.P function. |
| [value2 | (Optional.) Parameter of the VAR.P function. |
| ...] | Parameter of the VAR.P function. |
Examples
Population variance of a class
Formula
=VAR.P(B2:B31)
Returns the exact variance when B2:B31 contains every student's grade in the class.
Batch variance
Formula
=VAR.P(C2:C1000)
Calculates the variance of all 999 measurements in a complete production batch.
Low variance check
Formula
=VAR.P(D2:D50) < 0.01
Returns TRUE if the population variance is below a threshold, indicating very consistent values.
Common Errors
#DIV/0!
No numeric values in the range.
#VALUE!
Non-numeric direct arguments.
Tips
Population vs. sample
VAR.P divides by n; VAR.S divides by n-1. Use VAR.P only when you have complete population data.
Relationship to STDEV.P
VAR.P = STDEV.P^2. The variance is the standard deviation squared.
Sum of squared deviations
VAR.P(data) * COUNT(data) equals DEVSQ(data). This relationship is useful in regression and ANOVA calculations.
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