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problem with LINEST function

Posted by Reekha on February 05, 2001 10:07 AM
ok, my problem is that i don't really understand what this function does and how it works. I have given x and y values and i have to figure out y= c1x + c0 and i need to figure out c1 and co. What am i suppose to do. I looked at the help topics and read their explanation but still don't get it.

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Re: problem with LINEST function

Posted by Scott R on February 05, 2001 10:40 AM

If all you want is c1 and c0, the SLOPE and INTERCEPT functions are more direct than LINEST.


Re: problem with LINEST function

Posted by Mark W. on February 05, 2001 10:50 AM
Reeka, let's assume that cells A1:B3 contains
{"X","Y";2,5.5;1,3} and you select cells D1:E1,
type LINEST(B2:B3,A2:A3)) and press Shift+Ctrl+Enter.
Cells D1:E1 will contain a single array formula,
{=LINEST(B2:B3,A2:A3))} which produces the slope (in
cell D1) and the y-intercept in cell (E1). These
are your "c1" and "c0" values respectively.

Re: problem with LINEST function

Posted by Reekha on February 05, 2001 12:43 PM

Ok: Mark
i did what you gave as an example an i got a value in D1 and #VALUE in E1. Is thsi correct? if it is than i get it. ANother thing is how do you apply this to multiple regression like when you have to figure out n5,n4,n3,n2,n1,n0....
Thanks everyone for helping me.


Re: problem with LINEST function

Posted by Mark W. on February 05, 2001 1:27 PM
Reeka, if I was a betting man -- and I am -- I'd
guess that you didn't hold down the both the Shift
and Ctrl keys when you pressed the Enter key. Select
D1:E1 and try again.

Not being a statistician I'd must recommend that you
look at the Excel Help Topic for "regression".


Re: problem with LINEST function

Posted by Mark W. on February 05, 2001 1:46 PM
Oh, now I understand what you mean when you ask about
multiple regression. Take a look at Example 3 in
the Help topic for "LINEST worksheet function.

Re: problem with LINEST function

Posted by Mark W. on February 05, 2001 1:56 PM
Reeka, I sense that you may not be all that familiar
with array formulae. Take a look at the Excel Help
Topic for "About array formulas and how to enter them".

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