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VARA

The VARA function returns the variance of a sample of data, which is an estimate of the population variance. It is commonly used in statistical analysis to measure the variability of a data set. The function takes two or more numerical arguments and returns the variance of the sample. If the data set represents the entire population, use the VARP function instead.

Usage

Use the VARA formula with the syntax shown below, it has 1 required parameter:

=VARA(value1, value2)
Parameters:
  1. value1, value2, ... (required):
    Two or more numerical values that represent a sample of data.

Examples

Here are a few example use cases that explain how to use the VARA formula in Google Sheets.

Calculating the variance of a sample

The VARA function can be used to calculate the variance of a sample of data. For example, if you have a list of test scores for a class of students, you can use the VARA function to measure the variability of the scores.

Comparing the variability of two data sets

You can use the VARA function to compare the variability of two data sets. For example, if you have two sets of test scores from different classes, you can use the VARA function to determine which class has a greater degree of variability.

Measuring the consistency of data

The VARA function can be used to measure the consistency of data. If the variance of a data set is low, it indicates that the data points are closely clustered around the mean. If the variance is high, it indicates that the data points are more spread out.

Common Mistakes

VARA not working? Here are some common mistakes people make when using the VARA Google Sheets Formula:

Using text values in the data set

The VARA function includes text values in the variance calculation. However, text values do not have a numeric value and can lead to incorrect results. Make sure to remove any text values from the data set before using the VARA function.

Using ranges that contain empty cells

If you use a range that contains empty cells, the VARA function will treat the empty cells as if they were zero. This can lead to incorrect results. Make sure to only include cells with numeric, text or logical values in the range.

Forgetting to include the second argument

The VARA function requires at least one argument, but can accept multiple arguments. If you forget to include the second argument, the function will return an error. Make sure to include the second argument, even if it is an empty array.

Using text representations of numbers

The VARA function includes logical values in the variance calculation, but not text representations of numbers. If you use text representations of numbers, the function will return an error. Make sure to convert text representations of numbers to actual numbers before using the VARA function.

Dividing by the wrong number of degrees of freedom

The VARA function divides the sum of squared deviations by the number of degrees of freedom to calculate the variance. The number of degrees of freedom is equal to the sample size minus one. If you divide by the wrong number of degrees of freedom, you will get an incorrect result. Make sure to use the correct number of degrees of freedom when dividing the sum of squared deviations.

Related Formulas

The following functions are similar to VARA or are often used with it in a formula:

  • VAR

    The VAR formula calculates the variance of a set of numerical values. Variance is a measure of how spread out a set of data is in relation to the mean. This formula is commonly used in statistical analysis to measure the variability or diversity of a dataset.

  • VAR.S

    The VAR.S function is a statistical function that calculates the variance of a sample of data. Variance is a measure of how spread out a set of data is from the average value. It is commonly used to analyze data and make decisions based on how much variation there is in the data.

  • STDEVA

    The STDEVA function returns the standard deviation of a sample, including text and logical values. It is a statistical function commonly used in data analysis to measure the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values. This function is useful when working with datasets that contain non-numerical values.

  • STDEVPA

    The STDEVPA function returns the standard deviation for the entire population given a sample of numbers as input. It is used to estimate the standard deviation of an entire population based on a sample. This function is useful when the entire population is not known and only a sample is available.

Learn More

You can learn more about the VARA Google Sheets function on Google Support.