NORMINV function

Syntax

NORMINV(probability,mean,standard_dev)

The NORMINV function syntax has the following arguments:

• Probability     Required. A probability corresponding to the normal distribution.

• Mean     Required. The arithmetic mean of the distribution.

• Standard_dev     Required. The standard deviation of the distribution.

Remarks

• If any argument is nonnumeric, NORMINV returns the #VALUE! error value.

• If probability <= 0 or if probability >= 1, NORMINV returns the #NUM! error value.

• If standard_dev ≤ 0, NORMINV returns the #NUM! error value.

• If mean = 0 and standard_dev = 1, NORMINV uses the standard normal distribution (see NORMSINV).

Given a value for probability, NORMINV seeks that value x such that NORMDIST(x, mean, standard_dev, TRUE) = probability. Thus, precision of NORMINV depends on precision of NORMDIST. NORMINV uses an iterative search technique. If the search has not converged after 100 iterations, the function returns the #N/A error value.

Example

Copy the example data in the following table, and paste it in cell A1 of a new Excel worksheet. For formulas to show results, select them, press F2, and then press Enter. If you need to, you can adjust the column widths to see all the data.