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<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> SKEW (skewness of a distribution) |
Syntax:
SKEW(Number1, Number2, Number3 [, Number4 ...])
or
SKEW(Range1 [, Range2, Range3 ...])
Description:
Returns the skewness of a probability distribution.
The skewness is a measure of the asymmetry of a distribution.
If there are more values to the right of the arithmetic mean of the distribution, you have a "right-skewed" distribution. SKEW returns a positive value here.
The opposite case is a "left-skewed" distribution. Here, SKEW returns a negative value.
When the SKEW approaches zero, the distribution is symmetric in good approximation.
Number1, Number2, Number3, etc. are the values to be evaluated. Empty cells, text and logical values are ignored.
At least three values have to be given, otherwise the function returns a #DIV/0! error value.
Note:
This function does not accept value pairs (x value and y value) as arguments, but only the values of the distribution. Duplicate values must be repeated in the argument list accordingly (see example).
Example:
Measuring the height of several test persons led to the following results: 1 x 1.60m, 2 x 1.65m, 4 x 1.70m, 2 x 1.75m and 1x1.80m.
To calculate the skewness of this distribution, use the following formula:
SKEW(1.60, 1.65, 1.65, 1.70, 1.70, 1.70, 1.70, 1.75, 1.75, 1.80) returns 4.66562E-15.
See also: