Excel like a finance pro.
Statistical function
HYPGEOM.DIST
Returns the hypergeometric distribution: the probability of a given number of successes when sampling without replacement.
When to use it
The hypergeometric distribution: successes when sampling without replacement from a finite population. Cards, audits, quality checks on a batch.
The shape of it
- Syntax
=HYPGEOM.DIST(sample_s, number_sample, population_s, number_pop, cumulative)
Worked examples
Exactly one
=HYPGEOM.DIST(1,4,8,20,FALSE) → 0.363261
Exactly 1 of 4 sampled from 20 items, 8 of which are successes.
One or fewer
=HYPGEOM.DIST(1,4,8,20,TRUE) → 0.465429
One or fewer.
No aces
=HYPGEOM.DIST(0,5,4,52,FALSE) → 0.658842
No aces in a five-card hand.
Worth knowing
- Audit sampling: probability of finding 0 errors in a sample when the batch has k.
- Approximates the binomial when the population is large relative to the sample.
- Arguments: sample successes, sample size, population successes, population size.
Where it goes wrong
- #NUM! when any count is inconsistent (sample bigger than population, and so on).
- Argument order trips people up; write the four numbers down first.
Related
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