BINOM.DIST.RANGE in WPS Spreadsheet: Calculate an Inclusive Success Range
Calculate probabilities between two inclusive success counts and distinguish omitted upper bounds from cumulative probabilities.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
Quick answer: BINOM.DIST.RANGE returns the probability of a specified success count or an inclusive range of success counts in a binomial model. =BINOM.DIST.RANGE(10,0.5,6,8) has the independent expected result 0.3662109375, covering exactly six, seven or eight successes.
Availability and evidence scope
The official WPS BINOM.DIST.RANGE lesson documents this function for WPS Office for Windows Personal. The source was checked on October 19, 2026. It does not establish the first release, the last supported release, or an exact installed build. Availability in Mac, Linux, web, mobile and other editions remains unverified.
Examples below distinguish documented behavior from independently calculated controls. No results were captured from a new WPS execution for this guide. No native screenshot or cross-client compatibility test is claimed.
Syntax and arguments
=BINOM.DIST.RANGE(trials,probability_s,number_s,[number_s2])
| Argument | Required? | Meaning and documented range |
|---|---|---|
trials |
Yes | Number of independent trials; at least zero. |
probability_s |
Yes | Probability of success on each trial, from 0 through 1. |
number_s |
Yes | Lower success count, from zero through trials. |
number_s2 |
No | Upper success count, from number_s through trials. |
If the upper count is omitted, WPS’s lesson describes the result as the probability of the single supplied success count. Omitting it does not request “at most” that many successes. Supply zero as the lower bound when the desired range starts at zero.
The trial count comes first here. In BINOM.DIST, the success count comes first. Copying arguments between these functions without reordering them changes the problem or produces an error.
A documentation ambiguity about truncation
The official page broadly says numeric arguments are truncated, yet its practical example uses a success probability of 60%. Reading that blanket sentence as truncating the probability to zero would contradict the example and the definition of a probability parameter. This guide keeps probability_s fractional and uses whole-number count inputs. Exact fractional-count handling and validation order remain native-test items; do not use the ambiguous sentence to round or truncate your probability.
Example 1: an inclusive range
| Cell | Label | Value |
|---|---|---|
| B1 | Trials | 10 |
| B2 | Success probability | 0.5 |
| B3 | Minimum successes | 6 |
| B4 | Maximum successes | 8 |
=BINOM.DIST.RANGE(B1,B2,B3,B4)
Independent expected result: 0.3662109375, or 36.62109375%.
For ten fair trials the probability of each specific success/failure sequence is 1/1024. There are 210 arrangements with six successes, 120 with seven and 45 with eight. Adding them gives 375/1024, which is the expected range probability. Both endpoints are included.
Example 2: omitted upper bound is one count
| Formula | Meaning | Independent expected result |
|---|---|---|
=BINOM.DIST.RANGE(10,0.5,8) |
Exactly 8 | 0.0439453125 |
=BINOM.DIST.RANGE(10,0.5,8,8) |
Exactly 8, with both bounds explicit | 0.0439453125 |
=BINOM.DIST.RANGE(10,0.5,8,10) |
At least 8 | 0.0546875 |
=BINOM.DIST.RANGE(10,0.5,0,10) |
All possible counts | 1 |
The all-counts result is a useful sanity check for a valid model. A probability formatted as 100% remains the numeric value 1.
Advanced example: reproduce the WPS lesson’s inspection band
The official lesson asks for the probability of 40 through 50 successes in 90 trials, each with success probability 60%. Enter:
=BINOM.DIST.RANGE(90,0.6,40,50)
The independently calculated expected probability is approximately 0.2238250651, or 22.38250651%. The input scenario is documented by WPS; this numeric value comes from summing the binomial probabilities, not from a newly executed WPS worksheet.
For an independent mathematical cross-check, subtract the probability of 0 through 39 successes from the probability of 0 through 50. The corresponding spreadsheet comparison is:
=BINOM.DIST(50,90,0.6,TRUE)-BINOM.DIST(39,90,0.6,TRUE)
It is expected to agree to normal displayed precision under the same binomial model. Subtracting at 40 would accidentally remove the lower endpoint. The identity is useful for understanding the bounds; it is not a blanket claim of identical floating-point behavior in every WPS build or extreme tail.
If this is a planning band, keep the lower and upper counts in labeled cells and vary one at a time. Raising the upper bound while leaving everything else fixed includes additional outcomes; moving both bounds at once is a different question. A band probability does not establish that the true per-trial probability is 0.6: that assumption must be justified separately.
Errors, limits and troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
#NUM! |
WPS documents this when an argument is outside its allowed range: negative trials, probability outside 0–1, lower count outside 0–trials, or upper count below the lower count or above trials. |
#VALUE! |
WPS documents this for nonnumeric arguments. Check imported cells and text labels. |
| A single-count probability instead of a band | Supply the fourth argument. |
| A valid but wrong result | Verify argument order and whether the two endpoints are inclusive. |
| A result that does not describe the real process | Check independence, a fixed number of trials, binary outcomes and a constant success probability. |
Keep the probabilities numeric. ISNUMBER can flag text inputs, but range validation and modeling assumptions still need explicit checks. The examples use integer counts and ordinary probabilities; maximum supported trial counts, extreme-tail precision and unusual coercions are not established by the source.
References and verification
- Official WPS BINOM.DIST.RANGE lesson (Chinese; Windows Personal documentation).
The documentation establishes the syntax and stated behavior. Original examples were checked independently under the assumptions stated alongside them; target-build execution remains a separate check. Version boundaries have not been inferred from another spreadsheet product.