NORMINV

See Also

Returns the inverse of the normal cumulative distribution for the specified mean and standard deviation.

Syntax

NORMINV(probability,mean,standard_dev)

Probability is a probability corresponding to the normal distribution.

Mean is the arithmetic mean of the distribution.

Standard_dev is 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

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.

Show How?

Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
Select the example in the Help topic. Do not select the row or column headers.

Selecting an example from Help
Press CTRL+C.
In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Tools menu, point to Formula Auditing, and then click Formula Auditing Mode.

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A	B
Data	Description
0.908789	Probability corresponding to the normal distribution
40	Arithmetic mean of the distribution
1.5	Standard deviation of the distribution
Formula	Description (Result)
=NORMINV(A2,A3,A4)	Inverse of the normal cumulative distribution for the terms above (42)