How to Create a Bell Curve Chart

A bell curve is a plot of normal distribution of a given data set. This article describes how you can create a chart of a bell curve in Microsoft Excel.

More Information

n the following example you can create a bell curve of data generated by Excel using the Random Number Generation tool in the Analysis ToolPak. After Microsoft Excel generates a set of random numbers, you can create a histogram using those random numbers and the Histogram tool from the Analysis ToolPak. From the histogram, you can create a chart to represent a bell curve.

To create a sample bell curve, follow these steps:

  1. Start Excel.
  2. Enter the following column headings in a new worksheet:

A2: 23 B2: A3: 25 B3: STDEV A4: 12 B4: A5: 24 A6: 27 A7: 57 A8: 45 A9: 19
B2: =AVERAGE(A2:A9) B3: B4: =STDEV(A2:A9)
C2: =$B$2-3*$B4

This generates the lower limit of the bin range. This number represents three standard deviations less than the average.

  1. On the Tools menu, click Data Analysis.
  2. In the Analysis Tools box, click Random Number Generation, and then click OK.
  3. In the Number of Variables box, type 1.
  4. In the Number of Random Numbers box, type 2000.

Note: Varying this number will increase or decrease the accuracy of the bell curve.
  1. On the Tools menu, click Data Analysis.
  2. In the Analysis Tools box, select Histogram, and then click OK.
  3. In the Input Range box, type D2:D2001.
  4. In the Bin Range box, type C2:C8.
  5. In the Output Options pane, click Output Range.
  6. Type E2 in the Output Range box.
  7. Click OK.
  1. On the Tools menu, click Data Analysis.
  2. Click Histogram, and then click OK.
  3. In the Input Range box, type A2:A9.
  4. In the Bin Range box, type C2:C8.
  5. In the Output Options pane, click Output Range.
  6. Type G2 in the Output Range box.
  7. Click OK.
E14: =G1&"-"&G2 E15: =E1&"-"&F2 E16: =G1&"-"&H2

Note: Just below these 5 sub-types, the description will say "Scatter with data points connected by smoothed lines without markers."

You now have a chart that compares a given data set to a bell curve.

References

For more information about creating charts, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type create a chart in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.