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The Excel GAMMA.DIST Function
Basic Description
The Excel Gamma.Dist function returns either the cumulative distribution or the probability density function
for the Gamma Distribution. This distribution is frequently used to provide probabilities for sets of
values that may have a skewed distribution, such as queuing analysis.
The Gamma.Dist function is new in Excel 2010 and so is not available in earlier versions of Excel.
However, the function is simply a new version of the
Gammadist
function, that is available in earlier versions of Excel.
The syntax of the Gamma.Dist function is :
GAMMA.DIST( x, alpha, beta, cumulative )
where the function arguments are:
| x |
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A positive value at which you want to evaluate the function
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| alpha |
- |
A parameter of the distribution
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| beta |
- |
A parameter of the distribution
Note: if beta=0, then the Standard Gamma distribution is calculated
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| cumulative |
- |
A logical argument that specifies the type of gamma distribution to be calculated. This can be either:
| TRUE | - |
cumulative distribution function |
| FALSE | - |
probability density function |
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Gamma.Dist Function Examples
Example 1 - Probability Density Function
The chart on the right shows the probability density function for the gamma distribution with
α = 3 and β = 2.
The value of this function for a selected value of x can be calculated by the Excel Gamma.Dist function.
For example, the function value at x = 6 is given by:
=GAMMA.DIST( 6, 3, 2, FALSE )
which gives the result 0.112020904.
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Gamma Probability Density Distribution with α=3 & β=2
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Example 2 - Cumulative Distribution Function
The chart on the right shows the Cumulative Gamma Distribution with α = 3 and β = 2.
If you want to calculate the value of this function at x = 6, this can be done with the Excel Gamma.Dist
function, as follows:
=GAMMA.DIST( 6, 3, 2, TRUE )
This gives the result 0.576809919.
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Cumulative Gamma Distribution Function with α=3 & β=2
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Further examples of the Excel Gamma.Dist function are provided on the
Microsoft Office website.
Gamma.Dist Function Errors
If you get an error from the Excel Gamma.Dist function this is likely to be one of the following :
Common Errors
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#NUM!
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Occurs if either:
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the supplied value of x is < 0
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the supplied value of alpha ≤ 0 or beta ≤ 0
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#VALUE!
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Occurs if any of the supplied arguments, x, alpha or beta are not recognised as numeric values
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