GROWTH Function (OpenOffice Calc)

• Introduced: First release not established; documented by OpenOffice.org 3.3.
• Supported in: Apache OpenOffice 4.1.16; this is a verified release, not a final supported version.
• Scope: Desktop Calc, English function names and semicolon-separated formulas.
• Checked: October 14, 2026. Eight ordinary scalar or INDEX-selected reference formulas were recalculated from generated ODF in 4.1.16 on Linux x86-64, Build 9816. Source and independent arithmetic were checked.

GROWTH fits a straight line to LN(y) and then exponentiates its predictions. For one predictor, its model is y=b*m^x with positive y observations. It is not ordinary linear regression on the original y values. Release implementation.

GROWTH(KnownY[;KnownX[;NewX[;Constant]]])

• KnownY: required strictly positive observations. KnownX: optional predictors; omission uses 1,2,… in the simple case.
• NewX: optional evaluation positions, defaulting to KnownX.
• Constant: optional TRUE by default. FALSE forces the intercept of the log model to zero, which fixes b=1 rather than b=0.

Enter the following numbers in their stated worksheet rows. K14 is unused; the prediction range is K10:K13.

GROWTH uses the positive values in L10:L14. The other regression examples use J10:J14. Keep each observed x-y pair aligned.

The native column contains saved 4.1.16 results; independent references use high-precision arithmetic and the stated source rules. Values are shown to twelve decimal places where needed. The range examples use the numeric setup above.

For x=1,2,3,4,5 and y=6,12,24,48,96, the exact exponential relationship is y=3*2^x. At x=0 the fitted value is 3, at x=6 it is 192, and at x=7 it is 384. At x=2.5 the independent value is approximately 16.970562748477.

With only the positive y range supplied, default x values are 1–5. The first and last selected fitted values are 6 and 96 for this exact relationship. Floating-point fitting can leave very small residual differences.

Constant=FALSE fits LN(y)=x*LN(m), fixing b=1. It must refit m; it does not keep m=2 and merely replace 3 with 1. For these observations, the forced log slope is LN(2)+3*LN(3)/11. The native prediction at x=6 is approximately 386.299232548658.

Least squares in log space minimizes squared log residuals. It is therefore a different optimization from minimizing squared residuals in the original units. Exponentiated predictions do not automatically estimate an arithmetic conditional mean under every noise model; no such statistical assumption is established by these examples.

The shared matrix checker rejects nonpositive y before taking logarithms and requires numeric entries and compatible dimensions. The native fixture uses only positive y and ordinary prediction positions. Zero, negative, missing, mixed-type and rank-deficient data were not executed.

All outputs are selected by INDEX from returned matrices. No GUI whole-array placement is claimed. Large positive predictions can overflow, and a fitted exponential should not be extended far beyond its data merely because the function can produce a number.

LOGEST, TREND, exp.

• Function-specific release implementation
• CheckMatrix regression helper
• CalculateTrendGrowth regression helper

The generated ODF produced the informational load warning “Not all attributes could be read.” The sheet was hard-recalculated and saved separately. All eight ordinary formula identities, inputs and selected results were reconciled; a stale SUM cache changed from 999999 to 3 and an uncached SUM returned 7. This establishes the stated examples, not every workbook style, invalid input or GUI whole-array entry. INDEX wrappers select individual returned components. Other explanatory identities are independent calculations. The authoring-tool XLSX was not executed in OpenOffice, and its preview values are not the native results reported here.