Analysis of Hydrologic Data

Estimation of Design Discharge and Water Level

Estimation of both flood discharges and high water levels are necessary for bank protection
design. Careful estimation of discharge and water level is important for all sites with erodible
banks. This section describes the methods of assessing flood discharge and water level at the
site under consideration. The design discharge and water level are determined for selected
probability of exceedance or return period.
The design discharge and water level arising from floods should be selected after due
consideration of the following:

The maximum historical discharge as recorded at the site, or as calculated on the basis of
recorded water level at the site, or as calculated on the basis of measured discharge at other
points on the river from which corresponding site discharge can reasonably be inferred;

the discharge derived from a frequency analysis using a probability of exceedance or return
period which is appropriate to the importance and value of the protection work.

The maximum historical water level as recorded at the site, or as inferred from observed or
recorded water level at other points on the river from which level can reasonably be transferred
to the site in question;

the water level derived from a frequency analysis using a probability of exceedance or return
period which is appropriate to the importance and value of the protection work.
In estimating high flows, primary reliance should be placed on careful field investigations,
local enquiries and searches of historical records. Data so obtained should be compared with
recorded data for hydrometric stations, and supplemented by analytical procedure using stagedischarge curves: At most hydrometric gauging stations reasonably stable relationship exists
between water level and discharge. At some sites, however, the stage discharge curve may be
quite unstable because of aggradation or degradation at channel bed or backwater effect from
downstream, and may change drastically during major floods. A persistent trend of rising or
lowering of curve indicates progressive channel aggradation or degradation. The stage
corresponding to design flood which exceeds any recorded flow obtained by extrapolating the
stage-discharge relationships.
The most commonly used method for estimating design discharge and water level examines the
observed discharge and water level to arrive at suitable estimates. The method, known as
frequency analysis, is founded on statistical analyses of discharge and water level records. For
locations where records of stream flows are available, or where flows from another basin can
be transported to the design location, design flood magnitude and water level can be estimated
directly from those records by means of frequency analysis.

Frequency Analysis
Frequency of a hydrologic event, such as the annual peak flow is the probability that a value
will be equaled or exceeded in any year. This is more appropriately called the exceedance
probability, P(F). The reciprocal of the exceedance probability is the return period T in years,
T 1
P ( F ) . The length of record should be sufficient to justify extrapolating the
i.e.,
frequency relationship. For example, it might be reasonable to estimate a 50-year flood on the

basis of a 30-year record, but to estimate a 100-year flood on the basis of a 10-year record
would normally be absurd (Neill 1973). Viessman and Lewis (1996) noted that as a general
rule, frequency analysis is cautioned when working with shorter records and estimating
frequencies of hydrologic events greater than twice the record length.
Frequency analysis can be conducted in two ways: one is the analytical approach and the other
is the graphical technique in which flood magnitudes are usually plotted against probability of
exceedance.
Here in the following sections, procedures are given mostly for discharge frequency analysis;
the similar procedures can also be followed for water level frequency analysis.
Analytical Frequency Analysis
Analytical frequency analysis is based on fitting theoretical probability distributions to given
data. Numerous distributions have been suggested on the basis of their ability to fit the
plotted data from streams (Linsley et al. 1988). The Log-Pearson Type III (LP3) has been
adopted for use in the United States federal agencies for flood analysis. The first asymptotic
distribution of extreme values (EV1), commonly called Gumbel Distribution has been widely
used and is recommended in the United Kingdom. EV1 Distribution was found to fit peak flow
data for several rivers in Bangladesh (Bari and Saleque 1995).
Extreme Value Distributions: Distributions of the extreme values selected from sets of samples
of any probability distribution converge to any one of three forms of Extreme Value
Distributions, called Type I, II, and III, respectively, when the number of selected extreme
values is large. The three limiting forms are special cases of a single distribution called
Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) Distribution. (Chow et al. 1988). The cumulative
distribution function for the GEV is
1

xu

F ( x) exp 1

(1)

where , u, and are parameters to be determined. For EVI Distribution x is unbounded,

while for EVII, x is bounded from below, and for EVIII, x is bounded from above. The EVI and
EVII Distributions are also known as the Gumbel and Frechet Distributions, respectively.
The Extreme Value Type I (EVI) cumulative distribution function is

xu
F ( x ) exp exp

-x

(2)

The parameters are estimated by

6
s

and u x 0.5772

(3)

Eq (2) can be expressed as

F ( x) e e

(4)

where y is the reduced variate defined as

xu

(5)

Solving Eq (4) for y:

 1

y ln ln
F x

(6)

Noting that the probability of occurrence of an event x xT is the inverse of its return period
T, we can write

1
P ( x xT ) 1 P ( x xT ) 1 F ( xT )
T
so

F ( xT ) 1

1
T

and substituting for F( xT ) into Eq (6)

T
yT ln ln

T 1

(7)

For a given return period xT is related to yT by Eq (5), or

xT u y T

(8)

Example 1
Using the EVI Distribution, a model is developed for frequency analysis of the annual peak
flow data of Old Brahmaputra River at Mymensingh for 5, 10, 25 and 50 years return period
peak flows are calculated.
Annual peak discharges (m3/s) of the Old Brahmaputra River at Mymensingh for the period
from 1964-98
Year
Peak flow
1964
2830
1965
3230
1966
3490
1967
3000
1968
2810
1969
2770
1970
3250
1974
3820
1975
3060
1976
3210
1977
3550
Sample Size
Max =
4910
Min =
Skew, Cs =

1065
0.372

Year
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
n = 32

Ave, x =
Std, s =

Peak flow
2770
2630
3340
2690
2470
2370
4780
3070
1930
3230
4910

Year
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998

Peak flow
2180
2060
2900
1490
2060
1065
3187
2369
1973
3267

2867.53
804.54

Note that data for 1971, 72 and 73 are missing. When a fairly long record has a short gap, it
may be justifiable to estimate the missing data by correlation with a nearby station; otherwise it
is preferable to consolidate the various recorded sequences as if they formed a continuous
record (Neill 1973). The latter approach is used in this example.
For the given data x 2867.53 and s = 804.54. Substituting in Eq (3) yields

6 804 .54

= 627.62

and u x 0.5772 2505 .27

x 2505.27
F ( x) exp exp

626.62

The probability model is

To determine the values of xT for various values of T, it is convenient to use the reduced
variate yT .
5
y5 ln ln
1.5
5

For T = 5 years, Eq (7) gives

and Eq (8) yields

x5 = 2505.27 + 627.621.5 = 3446.7 m3/s.

Similarly for other values of T, yT and xT values are found as follows:

T=10 years,
T=25 years,
T=50 years,

yT = 2.25,
yT = 3.20,
yT = 3.90,

xT = 3918 m3/s
xT = 4513 m3/s
xT = 4954 m3/s

Frequency Analysis using Frequency Factors

Calculating the magnitudes of extreme events by the method outlined in the above example
requires that the probability distribution function be invertible, that is, given a value of T or
1
F ( xT ) 1
T , the corresponding value of xT can be determined. Some probability
distribution functions are not readily invertible, like the Normal and Pearson Type III
Distributions. Thus an alternative method based on frequency factor is used for calculating the
magnitudes of extreme events. Chow (1951) has shown that most frequency functions can be
generalized to
xT x K T s

(9)

where xT is a flood of specified probability or return period T, x is the mean of the flood
series, s is the standard deviation of the series; and K T is the frequency factor and is a function
of return period and type of probability distribution, as well as coefficient of skewness for
skewed distributions, such as LP3.
In the event that the variable analyzed is y log x , for example as in Lognormal and LP3
Distributions, the same method is applied to the statistics for the logarithms of data using
yT y K T s y
, and the required value of xT is found taking antilog of yT .
Chow (1951) proposed the frequency factor as in Eq (9), and it is applicable to many
probability distributions used in hydrologic frequency analysis. The K-T relationship can be
expressed in mathematical terms or by a table.
Normal Distribution: From Eq (9) the frequency factor can be expressed as

KT

xT x
z
s

(10)

Thus, for Normal Distribution K T is the same as the standard normal variable z. The value of z
and hence K T can be obtained from Table 2.
Lognormal Distribution: The recommended procedure for use of the Lognormal Distribution
is to convert the data series to logarithms and compute:
1)

y i log xi

2)

s
Compute the mean, y and standard deviation y

3)

Compute

KT

yT y K T s y

yT y
z
sy

So, K T can be taken from Table 2.

4)

Finally compute xT anti log yT

Log-Pearson Type III (LP3) Distribution: The recommended procedure for use of the LP3
Distribution is to convert the data series to logarithms and compute:
1)

y i log xi

2)
3)

Compute the mean, y and standard deviation

Compute coefficient of skewness

Cs
4)

n ( y i y ) 3

(n 1)( n 2) s y

Compute

sy

yT y K T s y

(11)

where K T is taken from Table 3.

5)

Finally compute xT anti log yT

Table 3 gives values of the frequency factors for the LP3 Distribution for various values of
return period and coefficient of skewness, Cs. When Cs =0, the frequency factor is equal to the
standard normal variable z (Table 2).
Extreme Value I (EVI) Distribution: Chow (1951) derived the following expression for
frequency factor for the EVI Distribution
T
6
KT

0.5772 ln ln

T 1
(12)

When xT , Eq (9) (in population term) gives K T 0 and Eq (12) gives T=2.33
years. This is the return period of the mean of the EVI Distribution.
Table of frequency factors for the EVI Distribution, given in Table 4, is taken from
Haan (1977). The values computed from the above equation are equivalent to an
infinite sample size in Table 4.
5

Example 2

For illustration the 5 and 50 years return period annual maximum discharges (m 3/s) for
the Old Brahmaputra River near Mymensingh is calculated using the Lognormal, LogPearson Type III and EVI Distributions.
Year
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1974
1975
1976
1977

Peak flow
2830
3230
3490
3000
2810
2770
3250
3820
3060
3210
3550
Ave,

y=

y = log Q
3.451786
3.509202
3.542825
3.477121
3.448706
3.442479
3.511883
3.582063
3.485721
3.506505
3.550228
3.4394

Year
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988

Peak flow
2770
2630
3340
2690
2470
2370
4780
3070
1930
3230
4910
Std,

sy

Log Q
3.442479
3.419955
3.523746
3.429752
3.392696
3.374748
3.679427
3.487138
3.285557
3.509202
3.691081

Year
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998

0.1326

Peak flow
2180
2060
2900
1490
2060
1065
3187
2369
1973
3267

Log Q
3.338456
3.313867
3.462397
3.173186
3.313867
3.027349
3.503382
3.374565
3.295127
3.514149

Skew, Cs = -0.9303

Lognormal Distribution: For T = 50 year, 1/T = 0.02 and F x P Z z 0.98 Table 2 is

entered and z = 2.054 is obtained by interpolation corresponding to the tabular value of

P Z z 0.98. Note that the value of frequency factor can be obtained from Table 3 with Cs

= 0.

yT y K T s y y 50
,

3.4394 + 2.0540.1326 = 3.7118,

x50 10

3.7118

5150 m3/s

50
Log-Pearson Type III (LP3) Distribution: For Cs = -0.9303, the value of
1.532, so,
3.6425
y T y K T s y y 50
x 10
4390 m3/s
,
3.4394 +1.5320.1326 = 3.6425, 50

Extreme Value I (EVI) Distribution: Eq (12) gives

K 50 2.592 (however, Table 4 gives K 50

x
3.007 for n=32 years), so, xT x K T s , 50 2867.5 + 2.592804.54 = 4953 m3/s.
Graphical Frequency Analysis

The frequency of an event can be obtained by use of probability plot, which is a plot of event
magnitude versus probability. As a check that a probability distribution fits a set of hydrologic
data, the data are plotted on specially designed probability paper that linearizes the distribution
function. The plotted data are then fitted with a straight line for interpolation and extrapolation
purposes. Determining the probability to assign a data point is commonly referred to as
determining probability position.

Plotting Positions: Plotting position refers to the probability value assigned to each piece of
data to be plotted. If n is the total number of values to be plotted and m is the rank of a value in
a list ordered by descending magnitude, the exceedance probability of the mth largest value
is, for large n,

P( X x m )

xm

m
n

However this simple formula (known as Californias formula) produces a probability of 100%,
which implies that the largest sample value is the largest possible value. A value of 100%
cannot be plotted on many probability paper (Haan 1977). To overcome this limitation other
formulas have been proposed. Several plotting position formulas are given below.

Plotting position formulas

California
Hazen
Beard
Weibull
Gringorten
Chegodayev
Blom
Tukey

(m/n)
(m-0.5)/n
1 - (0.5)1/n
m/(n+1)
(m-0.44)/(n+0.12)
(m-0.3)/(n+0.4)
(m-3/8)/(n+1/4)
(3m-1/3n+1)

The technique in all cases is to arrange the data in increasing or decreasing order of magnitude
and to assign order number m to the ranked values. The most efficient formula for computing
plotting positions for unspecified distribution and the one now commonly used for most sample
data, is
P

m
n 1

When m is ranked from lowest to highest, P is an estimate of the probability of values being
equal to or less than the ranked value, that is, P(Xx); when the rank is from highest to lowest,
P is P(Xx).
Example 3
As an example, probability plotting analysis of the annual maximum discharges (m 3/s) of the
Old Brahmaputra near Mymensingh is performed. Also plotted data are compared with best-fit
EVI Distribution.
Rank Peak
Plotting
flow
position*
m
Q
P
1
4910
0.017
2
4780
0.049
3
3820
0.0797
4
3550
0.111
5
3490
0.142
6
3340
0.173
7
3267
0.204
8
3250
0.235
9
3230
0.267
10
3230
0.298
11
3210
0.329
Sample size n = 32

Rank
m
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Peak
flow
Q
3187
3070
3060
3000
2900
2830
2810
2770
2770
2690
2630

Plotting
position
P
0.3604
0.391
0.422
0.453
0.484
0.5156
0.547
0.578
0.610
0.640
0.671

Rank
m
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32

Peak
flow
Q
2470
2370
2369
2180
2060
2060
1973
1930
1490
1065

Plotting
position
P
0.702
0.733
0.765
0.7958
0.827
0.858
0.889
0.920
0.951
0.983

Ave = 2867.531
Std dev = 804.5443, Skew = 0.37198
* Gringorten, P = (m0.44)/(n+10.88)

First the data are ranked from largest (m=1), as shown below to smallest (m=n=32).
Gringortens plotting formula (b=0.44) was used since data are being fitted to EVI Distribution.
For example, for m=1, the exceedance probability (Q 4910 m3/s) = (m0.44)/(n+10.88) =
(10.44)/(32+0.12) = 0.56/32.12 = 0.017. Similarly all the plotting positions are calculated and
plotted on EVI paper (Fig 6). The plotted points represent the empirical distribution obtained
using 32 observed peak flows.
Several points on the best-fit EVI line are calculated using Eq (9) as follows:
T=5 years,
P(Qq) = 0.20
K5 = 0.719,
Q5 = 3446 m3/s
T =25 years,
P(Qq) = 0.04
K25 = 2.044,
Q25 = 4511 m3/s
T =50 years,
P(Qq) = 0.02
K50 = 2.592,
Q50 = 4952 m3/s
T =100 years, P(Qq) = 0.01
K100 = 3.137,
Q100 = 5390 m3/s
A straight line is drawn through the calculated points to obtain the best-fit EVI Distribution
line. In this example the plotted points show good-fit with EVI Distribution.

Goodness-of-fit Tests
The goodness of fit of a probability distribution can be tested by comparing the
theoretical and sample values of the relative frequency or the cumulative frequency
function. In the case of the relative frequency function, the 2 test is used and with
cumulative frequency function the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is used.
Chi-Square Test: The test statistic is given by
k n f x p x 2
2
s
i
i

i 1
p xi

(13)
where k is the number of intervals; the sample value of the relative frequency of
interval i is, fs(xi) = ni/n; the theoretical value of the relative frequency function (also
called incremental probability function) is p(xi) = F(xi) - F(xi-1). It may be noted that
nfs(xi) = ni, the observed number of occurrences in interval i, and np(xi) is the
corresponding expected number of occurrences in interval i.
To describe the test, the probability distribution must be defined. A
distribution with = k-l-1 degrees of freedom (l is the number of parameters used in
fitting the proposed distribution) is the distribution for the sum of squares of
2

independent standard normal random variables zi. The critical distribution function
is tabulated (in Table 5) from Haan (1977). A confidence level is chosen for the test; it
is often expressed as 1-, where is termed the significance level.
2

Return Period (Years)

Exceedence Probability
Discharge (m3/s)

Fig. 6 EVI probability plot for annual peak flows of Old Brahmaputra,
Mymensingh
Example 4
Chi square test is used to determine whether EVI Distribution adequately fits the Old
Brahmaputra river annual peak flow data.
Thirty two peak flow observation are divided into six class intervals. The number or
frequency of observations, ni in each class is counted. The observed or sample values of
relative frequency fs(xi) is calculated with n = 32. For example, for the second class
interval fs(x2) = 8/32 = 0.25. The observed cumulative frequency found by summing up
the relative frequencies.

To fit EVI Distribution, the parameters and u are calculated as before ( = 627.62, u =
2505.27, x = 2867.5 and s = 804.54 m3/s). The theoretical cumulative frequencies
corresponding to the upper limit of each of class interval is calculated by finding
reduced variate y from Eq (5) and the F(x) by Eq (4). For example, for the second class
interval
y2

x2 u

e
and F x 2 e

y2

0.36479

p(x2) = P(1750 X 2500) = F(2500) F(1750) = 0.32904

The value of 0.32904 is entered under the expected relative frequency corresponding to
the class interval 1750-2500 in the table below.
The calculation is repeated for other class intervals and summed to obtain 2 = 2.35.
This is the computed 2 value.
To test the goodness of fit, this is compared with the critical 2 value to be obtained
from tabular values as shown below.
Class limit

Num of
obs.

Obs
frequency

Obs cum
frequency

Reduced
variate

Expected cum
frequency

Expected
relative
frequency

Chi
square

Lower
limit
1000

Upper
limit
1750

ni

fs(xi)

Fs(xi)

yi

F(xi)

p(xi)

0.0625

0.0625

-1.2033

0.03575

0.03575

0.64050

1750

2500

0.25

0.3125

-0.0084

0.36479

0.32904

0.60757

2500

3250

14

0.4375

0.75

1.1866

0.73693

0.37214

0.36734

3250

4000

0.1875

0.9375

2.3815

0.91174

0.17481

0.02948

4000

4750

0.03125

0.96875

3.5765

0.97242

0.06068

0.45676

4750

5500

0.03125

1.0

4.7716

0.99157

0.01915

0.24465

32

1.00

Total

Computed Chi square 2

2.3463

For a confidence level of 90%, from Table 5, the critical Chi square for = k-l-1 = 6-21 = 3 degree of freedom, 2 = 6.25. Since the computed Chi square value of 2.35 is less
than the critical value of 6.25, the data fits EVI Distribution adequately.
Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test: The theoretical and sample values of the cumulative frequency are
compared with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (S-K) test. The test statistic D, which is based on
deviations of the sample distribution function P(x) from the completely specified continuous
hypothetical distribution function Po(x), such that:

D max P( x) Po ( x)
Developed by Kolmogorov (Kite 1988) in 1933, the test requires that the value of D
computed from the sample distribution be less than the tabulated value of D (Table 6) at

10

the required confidence level. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for Gumbels Extremal

Distribution gives better result in Bangladesh
Bankful Discharge

The bankful discharge of a river may be defined as the discharge which is contained
within the banks of the river. This is the state of maximum velocity in the channel, and
therefore of maximum competence for the transport of sediment load.
Bankful discharge is assumed to be a major determinant of the size and shape of a river
channel, but it is difficult to measure in the field, and a wide variety of field procedures
exist for this measurement. Quoting return periods for bankful discharge is a tricky
business because over a dozen methods are available, but the frequency of its
occurrence seems to vary with climatic regimes.
Dominant Discharge Analysis

The dominant discharge is the flow doing most geomorphic work and it is, therefore,
the channel forming discharge. It probably does not correspond to bankful flow on any
river. The dominant or channel forming flow represents an alternative benchmark
criterion to bankful flow when analyzing channel form and process. To estimate the
dominant discharge the following steps are followed:

1. Obtain long-term (30 year plus) distribution of flows for gauging station.
Frequency, F
2. Split this into discrete of equal class interval. For Brahmaputra, let us try initially 5,000
m3/s class interval, and check sensitivity of results to this choice of interval. Find mid point of
each class.
F

11

3. Obtain the most reliable sediment rating curve for the gauging station. Ideally this should
be for total load, but a suspended load curve may be used provided that suspended load makes
up most of the total load, as is usually the case.
Qs

Q
4. Use the sediment rating curve to find the sediment transport rate (tons/sec) for the mid-point
discharge of each flow class.

Qs
Qsi

Qi

5. Multiply the sediment transport rate for each discharge class with the frequency of that class
to obtain the total sediment load transported by that flow during the period; plot this as a
histogram.
Total
Qs

Q
Mode = Qd
6. From the histogram, identify the mode. This corresponds to the dominant discharge.
Determine the magnitude of Qd = dominant discharge and use the flow duration curve to
establish its return period.

12

Exceedance Probability

Table 2 Cumulative probability of the Standard Normal Distribution

13

Table 3 Frequency factors for Pearson Type III Distribution

14

15

Table 3 Continued

16

Table 4 Frequency factors for Extreme Value I Distribution

Return Period
Sampl
e size
(n)
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100

10

15

20

25

50

75

100

1000

0.96
7
0.91

1.70
3
1.62

2.117

2.63
2
2.51

3.32
1
3.17

3.72
1
3.56

4.00
5
3.83

6.265

9
0.88
8

5
1.57
5

2.02
3
1.96
3

2.41
0
2.30
2
2.23
5

7
2.44
4

9
3.08
8

3
3.46
3

6
3.72
9

0.86
6
0.85
1
0.83
8

1.54
1
1.51
6
1.49
5

1.92
2
1.89
1
1.86
6

2.18
8
2.15
2
2.12
6

2.39
3
2.35
4
2.32
6

3.02
6
2.97
9
2.94
3

3.39
3
3.34
1
3.30
1

3.65
3
3.59
8
3.55
4

0.82
9
0.82
0
0.81
3

1.47
8
1.46
6
1.45
5

1.84
7
1.83
1
1.81
8

2.10
4
2.08
6
2.07
1

2.30
3
2.28
3
2.26
7

2.91
3
2.88
9
2.86
9

3.26
8
3.24
1
3.21
9

3.52
0
3.49
1
3.46
7

0.80
7
0.80
1
0.79
7

1.44
6
1.43
7
1.43
0

1.80
6
1.79
6
1.78
8

2.05
9
2.04
8
2.03
8

2.25
3
2.24
1
2.23
0

2.85
2
2.83
7
2.82
4

3.20
0
3.18
3
3.16
9

3.44
6
3.42
9
3.41
3

0.97
2
0.78
8
0.78
5

1.42
3
1.41
7
1.41
3

1.78
0
1.77
3
1.76
7

2.02
9
2.02
0
2.01
3

2.22
0
2.21
2
2.20
5

2.81
2
2.80
2
2.79
3

3.15
5
3.14
5
3.13
5

3.40
0
3.38
7
3.37
6

0.78
2
0.78
0
0.77
9

1.40
9
1.40
5
1.40
1

1.76
2
1.75
7
1.75
2

2.00
7
2.00
2
1.99
8

2.19
8
2.19
3
2.18
7

2.78
5
2.77
7
2.77
0

3.12
5
3.116

3.36
7
3.35
7
3.34
9

0.71
9

1.30
5

1.63
5

1.86
6

2.04
4

2.59
2

2.911

17

3.10
9

3.13
7

6.006
5.842
5.727
5.576

5.478

5.359

5.261
4.936

Table 5 2 Distribution

DOF

x.2995

x.299

x.2975

x.295

x.290

x.275

2a, v

x.250

x.225

x.210

x.205

x.2025

x.201

x.2005

1
2
3
4

7.88
10.6
12.8
14.9

6.63
9.21
11.3
13.3

5.02
7.38
9.35
11.1

3.84
5.99
7.81
9.49

2.71
4.61
6.25
7.78

1.32
2.77
4.11
5.39

0.455
1.39
2.37
3.36

0.102
0.575
1.21
1.92

0.0158
.211
.584
1.06

0.0039
.103
.352
.711

0.0010
.0506
.216
.484

0.0002
.0201
.115
.297

0.0000
.0100
.072
.207

5
6
7
8
9

16.7
18.5
20.3
22.0
23.6

15.1
16.8
18.5
20.1
21.7

12.8
14.4
16.0
17.5
19.0

11.1
12.6
14.1
15.5
16.9

9.24
10.6
12.0
13.4
14.7

6.63
7.84
9.04
10.2
11.4

4.35
5.35
6.35
7.34
8.34

2.67
3.45
4.25
5.07
5.90

1.61
2.20
2.83
3.49
4.17

1.15
1.64
2.17
2.73
3.33

.831
1.24
1.69
2.18
2.70

.554
.872
1.24
1.65
2.09

.412
.676
.989
1.34
1.73

10
11
12
13
14

25.2
26.8
28.3
29.8
31.3

23.2
24.7
26.2
27.7
29.1

20.5
21.9
23.3
24.7
26.1

18.3
19.7
21.0
22.4
23.7

16.0
17.3
18.5
19.8
21.1

12.5
13.7
14.8
16.0
17.1

9.34
10.3
11.3
12.3
13.3

6.74
7.58
8.44
9.30
10.2

4.87
5.58
6.30
7.04
7.79

3.94
4.57
5.23
5.89
6.57

3.25
3.82
4.40
5.01
5.63

2.56
3.05
3.57
4.11
4.66

2.16
2.60
3.07
3.57
4.07

15
16
17
18
19

32.8
34.3
35.7
37.2
38.6

30.6
32.0
33.4
34.8
36.2

27.5
28.8
30.2
31.5
32.9

25.0
26.3
27.6
28.9
30.1

22.3
23.5
24.8
26.0
27.2

18.2
19.4
20.5
21.6
22.7

14.3
15.3
16.3
17.3
18.3

11.0
11.9
12.8
13.7
14.6

8.55
9.31
10.1
10.9
11.7

7.26
7.96
8.67
9.39
10.1

6.26
6.91
7.56
8.23
8.91

5.23
5.81
6.41
7.01
7.63

4.60
5.14
5.70
6.26
6.84

20
21
22
23
24

40.0
41.4
42.8
44.2
45.6

37.6
38.9
40.3
41.6
43.0

34.2
35.5
36.8
38.1
39.4

31.4
32.7
33.9
35.2
36.4

28.4
29.6
30.8
32.0
33.2

23.8
24.9
26.0
27.1
28.2

19.3
20.3
21.3
22.3
23.3

15.5
16.3
17.2
18.1
19.0

12.4
13.2
14.0
14.8
15.7

10.9
11.6
12.3
13.1
13.8

9.59
10.3
11.0
11.7
12.4

8.26
8.90
9.54
10.2
10.9

7.43
8.03
8.64
9.26
9.89

25
26
27
28
29

46.9
48.3
49.6
51.0
52.3

44.3
45.6
47.0
48.3
49.6

40.6
41.9
43.2
44.5
45.7

37.7
38.9
40.1
41.3
42.6

34.4
35.6
36.7
37.9
39.1

29.3
30.4
31.5
32.6
33.7

24.3
25.3
26.3
27.3
28.3

19.9
20.8
21.7
22.7
23.6

16.5
17.3
18.1
18.9
19.8

14.6
15.4
16.2
16.9
17.7

13.1
13.8
14.6
15.3
16.0

11.5
12.2
12.9
13.6
14.3

10.5
11.2
11.8
12.5
13.1

30
40
50
60

53.7
66.8
79.5
92.0

50.9
63.7
76.2
88.4

47.0
59.3
71.4
83.3

43.8
55.8
67.5
79.1

40.3
51.8
63.2
74.4

34.8
45.6
56.3
67.0

29.3
39.3
49.3
59.3

24.5
33.7
42.9
52.3

20.6
29.1
37.7
46.5

18.5
26.5
34.8
43.2

16.8
24.4
32.4
40.5

15.0
22.2
29.7
37.5

13.8
20.7
28.0
35.5

70
80
90
100

104.2
116.3
128.3
140.2

100.4
112.3
124.1
135.8

95.0
106.6
118.1
129.6

90.5
101.9
113.1
124.3

85.5
96.6
107.6
118.5

77.6
88.1
98.6
109.1

69.3
79.3
89.3
99.3

61.7
71.1
80.6
90.1

55.3
64.3
73.3
82.4

51.7
60.4
69.1
77.9

48.8
57.2
65.6
74.2

45.4
53.5
61.8
70.1

43.3
51.2
59.2
67.3

Source: Catherine M. Thompson, Table of percentage points of the 2 distribution, Biometrika, Vol. 32 (1941), by
permission of the author and publisher.

Table 6 Kolmogorov-Smirnov Distribution

Sampl
e size (n)
1

Significance Level
.20
.900

0.15
.925

0.10
.950

18

0.05
.975

0.01
.995

2
3
4
5

.684
.565
.494
.446

.726
.597
.725
.474

.776
.642
.564
.510

.842
.708
.624
.563

.929
.829
.734
.669

6
7
8
9
10

.410
.381
.358
.339
.322

.436
.405
.381
.360
.342

.470
.438
.411
.388
.368

.521
.486
.457
.432
.409

.618
.577
.543
.514
.486

11
12
13
14
15

.307
.295
.284
.274
.266

.326
.313
.302
.292
.283

.352
.338
.325
.314
.304

.391
.375
.361
.349
.338

.468
.450
.433
.418
.404

16
17
18
19
20

.258
.250
.244
.237
.231

.274
.266
.259
.252
.246

.295
.286
.278
.272
.264

.328
.318
.309
.301
.294

.391
.380
.370
.361
.352

25
30
35
40
50

.21
.19
.18

.22
.20
.19

.24
.22
.21

.264
.242
.23
.21
.19

.32
.29
.27
.25
.23

.17
.16
.15
.14
.14

.21
.19
.18

60
70
80
90
100
Asymptotic
Formula

1.70

1.14

1.22

1.36

1.63

Source: Journal American Statistical Association 47:425-441, 1952.Z.W. Birnbaum.

19