WorksheetFunction.Poisson_Dist Method (Excel)

Returns the Poisson distribution. A common application of the Poisson distribution is predicting the number of events over a specific time, such as the number of cars arriving at a toll plaza in one minute.

Version Information

Version Added: Excel 2010

Syntax

expression .Poisson_Dist(Arg1, Arg2, Arg3)

expression A variable that represents a WorksheetFunction object.

Parameters

Name

Required/Optional

Data Type

Description

Arg1

Required

Double

X - The number of events.

Arg2

Required

Double

Mean - The expected numeric value.

Arg3

Required

Boolean

Cumulative - A logical value that determines the form of the probability distribution returned. If cumulative is TRUE, POISSON_DIST returns the cumulative Poisson probability that the number of random events occurring will be between 0 (zero) and x inclusive; if FALSE, it returns the Poisson probability mass function that the number of events occurring will be exactly x.

Return Value

Double

Remarks

  • If x is not an integer, it is truncated.

  • If x or mean is nonnumeric, POISSON_DIST returns the #VALUE! error value.

  • If x < 0, POISSON_DIST returns the #NUM! error value.

  • If mean ≤ 0, POISSON_DIST returns the #NUM! error value.

  • POISSON_DIST is calculated as follows. For cumulative = FALSE: Ff196305.POISSON_DIST_FALSE_ZA10390998(en-us,office.14).jpgFor cumulative = TRUE: Ff196305.POISSON_DIST_TRUE_ZA10390999(en-us,office.14).jpg

See Also

Concepts

WorksheetFunction Object Members

WorksheetFunction Object