Generate Random Numbers with Decimals in Microsoft Excel

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This tutorial shows you how to generate random numbers which have decimals in excel. This means the numbers will not just be integers; they will be decimals or fractions between two limits which you set. This is similar to the RANDBETWEEN() function except that that function only returns integers. Here, the RAND() function is used to create the decimal numbers in excel.

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Have a great day!

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Closed Caption:

here i'm going to show you how to
generate a random number which is
between two numbers so a number which
has a lower and an upper limit which it
cannot go past but which has decimals
after it now this is an important but so
let me explain here i want to generate a
number between 100 and 110 between 30
and 40 and between 225 and 275 but I
want there to be decimals after I don't
want to just be integers
now this is an important note because
otherwise I could simply use equals R
and between to get a number between
these numbers and now generate a random
number but it wouldn't give me the
decimals afterwards it was just giving
whole integers so in order to get the
decimal places you have to use the
regular equals R and function now let me
show you how to create this and you can
do it with any number so you can do
between 100 and 1000 101 million it
doesn't matter the lower and upper
limits up to you
so here let's get a number between 100
and 110 have the formula spelled out
right here but i'm gonna go ahead and
redo it now this formula is really just
made up of three parts the first one is
the equals R and open close parentheses
but now you need to figure out how to
get between 100 and 110 so you have to
multiply the rand function by the
difference between the numbers so since
the difference between 110 + 110 you
multiply the rand function I 10 then you
have to add the lowest number so the
lower limit so i have to add 100 plus
100 now what this is doing is it's
saying that the ran function it's simply
going to generate a decimal between 0
and 1 we're going to multiply that
decimal by the difference of the numbers
that you want to get to the difference
between 1 10 100 which is 10 so
multiplying 10 by this decimal function
equals R and is going to give you some
where between 0 and 10 so then say
equals R and turns out to be . 5 so . 5
times 10 is five and five plus 100 is
105 so that's the just of how this
actually works and if i hit enter
I'm going to get a number here and every
time they hit f9 it's going to refresh
the random number when i hit f9 you can
see it is never below 100 and never
above 110
now just two other quick examples so you
get the hang of it
let's get number between 30 and 40 so
equals R and open close parenthesis
times the difference between the upper
and lower limit which is 40-30 so 10 so
r $OPERAND and $OPERAND times 10 plus
the lower limit
30 enter
and hit f9 it's always between 30 and 40
now the last one is between 225 and 275
so equals R and open close parenthesis
times the difference which in this case
is going to be 50
plus the lower limit of 225 hit enter
and there we go i can hit f9 and they
all work now it's important to note that
if you want to generate a list so say
you want to have 10 randomly generated
numbers between to 25 to 75 simply copy
this formula and
taste it however many times you want and
now every time you hit f9 you will get
three in this case here three randomly
generated numbers between to 25 to 75
that's how you can actually make groups
a list and like i said before you can do
this with any size number you know
between one and ten or between one and a
million so that's how you can generate a
random number with a lower and an upper
limit that has decimals in it so it's
not just an integer