VAR.P in WPS Spreadsheet: Population Variance with Numeric Data

=VAR.P(A2:A5) calculates population variance. For the complete four-item set 8, 10, 12, 14, the independently expected output is 5. It divides the total squared deviation by n, the population count.

VAR.P(number1,[number2],...)

number1 is required and supplies the first numeric value or range. Further values or ranges are optional. Square brackets describe optional arguments; do not type them. The lesson also permits names, arrays and references containing numbers. These worked examples use small clean numeric ranges, with no reliance on mixed-value conversion or argument-count limits.

Suppose four machines are the entire group for this report. Enter Cycle seconds in A1 and 8, 10, 12, 14 in A2:A5. In C2 enter =VAR.P(A2:A5).

Expected output: 5 seconds squared. The mean is 11; squared deviations total 20; dividing by all four observations gives 5. If these machines instead represent a sample of a wider population, the sample calculation would divide by 3 and give 6.666666667.

Changing the report’s statistical scope changes which denominator is appropriate. VAR.P cannot infer that scope from the data.

Enter 2, 4 and 6 in E2:E4. =VAR.P(E2:E4) has expected output 2.666666667, because the squared deviations sum to 8 and there are three observations.

Enter 5, 5 and 5 in F2:F4. =VAR.P(F2:F4) has expected output 0. Equal observations have no spread, regardless of their common level.

Put 80, 100, 120 and 140 in H2:H5. These are ten times the original observations. Calculate:

=VAR.P(H2:H5)

Expected output: 500, which is 100 times the original variance of 5. The mean is 110; squared deviations total 2000; dividing by four gives 500.

Adding a constant has a different effect. Put 108, 110, 112 and 114 in J2:J5. =VAR.P(J2:J5) remains 5, because the deviations from the new mean remain -3, -1, 1 and 3. A change in origin does not change spread; a change in scale does.

The lesson’s mixed-data bullets distinguish direct arguments from arrays or references, but its broad statements about ignoring referenced errors and arguments causing errors leave error handling insufficiently clear for a reliable universal rule. Do not assume errors will be ignored. Inspect and clean the numeric input range before using the worked calculation.

The source also contains text/logical conversion guidance whose scope should not be generalized to every input form. Numeric-text coercion, referenced errors and empty-input behavior remain unverified in a target build. No exact error output is invented here.

If the answer differs by a factor close to n/(n-1), check whether a sample function was selected. If it differs by a factor of 100, check whether the measurements were scaled by ten. Use COUNT to verify the number of intended numeric observations and avoid including a subtotal alongside its components.

VARP has its own historical WPS lesson. Shared population-variance purpose does not establish that every edge case or version supports both exact spellings interchangeably.

The official WPS VAR.P lesson was fetched afresh on October 19, 2026. Its edition banner says WPS Office for Windows Personal. The lesson dates from 2019; it does not establish introduction or retirement dates, exact build coverage, or current Mac, Linux, web and mobile behavior. Examples are independently calculated expectations, not observed WPS outputs. Native execution and genuine current-application screenshots remain unverified.

VARP, VAR.S, COUNT, STDEV.P. Browse the WPS function library.