Microsoft KB Archive/25518

Excel: Distribution of the RAND() Function Last reviewed: November 2, 1994 Article ID: Q25518

SUMMARY When creating a random distribution of numbers for a small sample, the RAND() function may appear to create a mound-shaped curve. The RAND() function produces an even random distribution. However, for a small sample, the results sometimes appear similar to a bell-shaped curve or weighted to one end of a range. This appearance is standard for an even distribution. For the distribution to appear truly even, it would be necessary to generate a very large series, somewhere in the range of 1x10^32. In other words, a truly smooth curve would require plotting several million (or billion) points. The more points, the smoother the curve.

KBCategory: kbother KBSubcategory: Additional reference words: 1.00 1.03 1.04 1.06 1.50 2.20 3.00 Last reviewed: November 2, 1994 © 1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.