Use the random number generation tool to generate random numbers. This tool can generate random numbers having different probability distributions.
To use this tool, first specify the number of variables in the ``Number of Variables:'' entry box. This determines the number of columns of random values to be produced. Secondly, specify the number of random numbers. This determines the number of rows of random values to be produced. Thirdly specify the random distribution by selecting one of the list items from the random distribution list. The following random distributions are supported: Discrete, Normal, Bernoulli, and Uniform. Then specify the parameters of the distribution.
For Discrete random distribution, specify the value and probability input range in the ``Value and Probability Input Range:'' entry box. That is a table consisting of two columns and any number of rows. The first column specifies the discrete random values and the second column the probabilities for them. The discrete random values do not have to be numbers, for example, strings will do as well. The sum of the probabilities in the second column should be one. For example, if you have the values A, B, C, and D in A1:A4 and values 0.1, 0.4, 0.2, and 0.3 in B1:B4, you could specify value and probability input range to be A1:B4.
For Normal random distribution, specify the mean and the standard deviation. The default values for them are 0 for mean and 1 for standard deviation.
For Bernoulli random distribution, specify the ``p Value''. This is a probability value between 0 and 1. Bernoulli distribution has two random values 0 and 1, and the ``p Value'' specifies the probability of value 1. The mean of a random variable that has a Bernoulli distribution is E(X) = 1(p) + 0(1-p) = p, and the variance is var(X) = p(1-p).
For Uniform random distribution, specify the range of the random variables by filling the ``Between:'' and ``And:'' entries. The default values for them are 0 and 1 that gives random numbers between zero and one.