Jump to content

Documentation/Calc Functions/GEOMEAN

From The Document Foundation Wiki

Function name:

GEOMEAN

Category:

Statistical Analysis

Summary:

Calculates the geometric mean of a set of positive numbers. The geometric mean of n numbers is obtained by multiplying the numbers and taking the n-th root of their product.

Syntax:

GEOMEAN(Number 1 [; Number 2 [; … [; Number 255]]])

Returns:

Returns a non-negative real number which is the geometric mean of the supplied numbers.

Arguments:

Number 1, Number 2, … , Number 255 give the set of real numbers for which the geometric mean is to be calculated. Each argument may take one of the following forms:

  • A real number, or an expression that evaluates to a real number.
  • A reference to a single cell containing a real number.
  • A simple reference to a cell range containing real numbers.
  • The name of a named range, comprising cells containing real numbers.
  • The name of a database range, comprising cells containing real numbers.
  • An inline array of real numbers (for example, {1.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.4}).

Note that although GEOMEAN can accept up to 255 arguments, each argument could specify a range of cells. This means that the number of real numbers processed could be many more than 255.

The following conditions (including errors) may be encountered:

  • If any argument is a string in quotation marks, then GEOMEAN reports a parameter list error (Err:504).
  • Text in cells and empty cells are ignored.
  • If there are no supplied numbers, then GEOMEAN reports a #NUM! error.
  • If any supplied number is negative, then GEOMEAN reports an invalid argument error (Err:502).
  • If only one value is supplied, then GEOMEAN returns that value.

Additional details:

  • The formula for calculating the geometric mean ([math]\displaystyle{ \bar{x}_{geom} }[/math]) of a dataset [math]\displaystyle{ \left\{ {x_1, x_2, \cdot \cdot \cdot, x_{n-1}, x_n} \right\} }[/math] is:
[math]\displaystyle{ \bar{x}_{geom}~=~\left( \prod_{i=1}^{n} x_i \right)^\frac{1}{n}=\sqrt[n]{x_1\times x_2\times \cdot \cdot \cdot \times x_{n-1}\times x_n} }[/math]
To find the value of n, use the COUNT function.
  • For more information on the geometric mean, visit Wikipedia's Geometric mean page.

Examples:

Formula Description Returns
=GEOMEAN(A1:A5) where cells A1:A5 contain the values 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively. Here the function calculates the geometric mean of the five values passed in a cell range. 2.60517108469735
=GEOMEAN(23.4; 34.5; 45.6; 56.7) Here the function calculates the geometric mean of the four values passed as individual arguments. 38.0098112965012
=GEOMEAN({2; 4; 6; 8; 10; 12}) Here the function calculates the geometric mean of the six values passed in an inline array. 5.98759033104782

Related LibreOffice functions:

AVERAGE

COUNT

HARMEAN

ODF standard:

Section 6.18.34, part 2

Related (or similar) Excel functions:

GEOMEAN