Chap 4 Formulas and Functions Exploring Spreadsheet Software

Points covered in the chapter: Create Simple Calculations Understand References Edit Formulas Perform Calculations Using Functions Naming Cells and Ranges Using Multiple Worksheets in Calculations

Formulas and Functions Once you entered the data on a worksheet, you will want to add formulas to perform calculations. You can create your own formulas, or You can insert built-in formulas, called functions, for more complex computations such as financial, mathematical and statistical calculations. Excel formulas starts with the “=“ sign.

Calculation Operators

Comparison Operators Comparison operators will compare two values and display TRUE or FALSE in the cell containing the calculation depending on the comparison results A1 = 12 ; B1 contains the calculation =A1>13 Excel would display FALSE in cell B1

Order of Operations

Understand References References are used to indicate the cell values in your calculations.References may identify an individual cell or group of cells. There are three different types of references: Relative, Absolute and Mixed References. If you don’t copy the calculation, it makes no difference of which type you use, they will give the same results. However it becomes very important when you copy them.

Relative References Consider the formula =(E3-D3)*F3 When you copy the formula to other cells, the references in the formula automatically adjust to the new locations. Relative referencing is very useful when you copy a formula to several cells in the same column.

Absolute and Mixed References An absolute reference instructs Excel to always look for a value in a specific cell address. Adding a $ before the column and the row number freeze the formula on this specific cell Ex: J3 = G3*$C$18 Copy to J4 = G4*$C$18 Mixed reference is a reference that is only partially absolute Ex:=A$1 or =$A1

Using Multiple Worksheets in Calculations When referencing a different worksheet in the currently active workbook, the syntax is: =SheetName!CellReference When referencing a different worksheet in another workbook, the syntax is: =[WorkbookName.xls]SheetName!CellReference

Commonly used Functions

IF Function We use the IF function when we want to evaluate a condition and based on the results perform two different operations. The IF function has the following syntax: IF (logical test, value if true, value if false) ex: =IF(A2<70, “Fail”, “Pass”)