The STDEV function in Excel is a statistical function used to calculate the standard deviation of a set of values. The function takes up to 30 arguments, which can include numbers, ranges, or entire columns or rows of data. The standard deviation is a measure of how spread out the values in a set of data is.
A standard deviation of zero indicates that all values are the same, while a large standard deviation indicates that the values are spread out over a large range of values.
To calculate the standard deviation of a set of values in cells A1 through A5, enter the formula “=STDEV(A1:A5)” in a new cell. The formula will return the standard deviation of the values in the specified range.
As an alternative to entering the formula for each set of values, you can also use the STDEV MS Excel function with the AutoSum button. To use the AutoSum button, select the range of cells you want to measure and click the AutoSum button. The AutoSum button will automatically generate the STDEV formula and display the standard deviation of the values in the range.
In addition to calculating the standard deviation of a set of values, the STDEV MS Excel function can be used to calculate the standard deviation of an entire row or column of data. To calculate the standard deviation of an entire row or column, enter the formula “=STDEV(A:A)”, where A is the column or row you want to measure. The formula will return the standard deviation of all the values in the specified row or column.