Statistical Functions
Advanced
VAR to compare consistency
Same average, very different reliability.
Task:
Two couriers both average 3 days. In B8 and C8 give the variance of each courier's delivery times, then judge which one you can plan around.
Hints
+5 XPno-hints bonusSolve it on your own to keep the bonus. Each hint gets one step closer to the formula.
Variations of VAR Function
0/2The same formula in the other shapes it takes at work.
The data in this exercise
This is the grid you start with. Cell references in the task — B6, C2 — point at the row numbers and column letters below.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delivery | Courier A | Courier B |
| 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| 7 | |||
| 8 | Variance |
What this exercise teachesMay contain the answer
Both couriers average exactly 3 days, so the average cannot tell them apart. Courier B's variance is more than ten times A's: some parcels arrive next day, some take nearly a week. If a customer is promised a date, consistency matters more than the average.