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<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> HYPGEOMDIST (hypergeometric distribution) |
Note: HYPGEOMDIST is supplemented by the new function HYPGEOM.DIST with additional functionality, which is available in newer versions of Microsoft Excel (2010 or later).
Syntax:
HYPGEOMDIST(k, n, K, N)
Description:
This returns the probabilities of a hypergeometrically distributed random variable.
The hypergeometric distribution can be used to calculate the probability of, for example, obtaining k red balls when randomly drawing n balls (without replacement) from an urn containing N balls of which K are red.
k is the number of successes in the sample (success = drawing a red ball).
n is the size of the sample (the number of balls to be drawn)
K is the total number of successes in the population (the total number of red balls).
N is the size of the population (the total number of balls).
All of these values should be integers. If this is not the case, PlanMaker automatically truncates the decimal places.
Example:
An urn contains a total of 10 balls (N=10) of which 2 are red (K=2). To determine the probability of obtaining exactly 1 red ball (k=1) when drawing 5 balls (n=5), use the following calculation:
HYPGEOMDIST(1, 5, 2, 10) returns 0.55556
See also: