MODULE 5
or looking up values to be used in
USING FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS
To view a Formula
● selecting the cell and then referring to the
Formula Bar
➢ Result of the formula displays in cell
➢ Formula displays in formula bar
● Double click the cell
● Formula Tab - formula auditing group -
show formula
To edit
● space bar
● double click
● formula bar
● press F2 (automatic edit)
● esc key (to cancel the edit); press enter (to
reflect the changes)
● Ctrl + z (undo command) if your press the
enter then want to go back to the previous
entry in the cell
Name of each cells / A formula contains
one/more of the following:
● cell reference
- The coordinate of a specific cell.
- automatically updates
➢ Ex. A1 refers to the cell located in
the A column, and the first row, B1
(same as A1)
● Range of cell references - A specification
used to indicate a set of adjacent cells
➢ Ex. cells A1 to A5 can be referred to
as A1:A5 when specifying the range.
● Operator - A symbol used in mathematical
operations to specify the calculations to be
performed.
● Constant - A number or text value that is
entered directly into a formula.
● Function - A pre-built command in Excel
that performs mathematical operations such
as automatically adding up a range of cells
calculations
● absolute cell reference - a formula that
contains a specific cell or range of cells that
do not change regardless of where the
formula is copied or moved to
➢ F4
➢ To specify an absolute cell reference
in a formula, use the dollar sign ($ -
absolute reference indicator) before
the column and the row of the cell
you want to reference
Did you know?
➔ As you create a formula
using cell references, you can
toggle between relative,
absolute, and mixed
references by pressing F4 on
the keyboard. This will cycle
through the various reference
types and add or remove the
dollar sign ($) in the formula.
➔ When you use a named
range in a formula, it is
treated as an absolute
reference.
● Following the pattern for autofill (relative
cell reference)
Did you know?
➔ You can use the standard
Copy and Paste feature to
copy formulas to another
location in the worksheet; if
the cells are adjacent to the
original cell, you can use the
Auto Fill handle to copy the
formula

FORMULA
● SUMIF
➢ not that much criteria
➢ can check for one criterion at a time.
● SUMIFS
➢ several of criteria
➢ can check for multiple criteria at
once
● AVERAGE
➢ easier because it performs the
calculation automatically
➢ = AVERAGE (ranges of cells to
average)
➢ Insert function command /
Function library to insert the
formula needed
● MAX
➢ returns the largest value in a
specified range of cells in the
worksheet
➢ evaluates numerical values but
ignores empty cells, text values, and
the logical values of TRUE and
FALSE
● Minimum (MIN)
➢ returns the smallest value in a
specified range of cells in the
worksheet
➢ used for any scenario where you
need to find the minimum values in a
range of data; it is often used in
financial analysis.
➢ evaluates numerical values but
ignores empty cells, text values, or
logical values contained within the
specified range.
Did you know?
➔ The Function library
contains a button called
AutoSum. The AutoSum
will, by default, calculate the
total from the adjacent cell
through to the first
non-numeric cell. The
drop-down arrow on the
button also provides an
option to change this
command to perform
AVERAGE, MAX, MIN,
and COUNT.
● VAT = amount x 12% / 112% (Inclusive)
= amount + 12% (Exclusive)
❖ Are found in the Statistical category
of the Formula library
● COUNT
➢ only counts numerical value
➢ indicate how many cells contain a
numeric value (constants, cell
references, and ranges).
➢ The types of numbers that are
counted include negative numbers,
percentages, dates, time, and
fractions. Empty cells, text values,
and the logical values TRUE and
FALSE are ignored and are not
counted.
● COUNTA
➢ counts the number of cells that are
not blank/empty in a specified range
➢ Values that are counted include
numbers, text, logical values, error
values, and empty text strings.
➢ does not count cells that are
completely empty
➔ The COUNT and COUNTA
functions are quite beneficial
in counting the number of
cells that have a supported
value entered. However, both
these functions do not count
the number of cells that,
when evaluated, return a
blank value.
● COUNTBLANK
➢ counts the number empty or blank ● COUNTIFS
cells in a specified range ➢ evaluate different criteria in the same
➢ Any cells that include numbers, text, or in different ranges
logical values, and error values are ● Count Function
not counted.
➢ Cells that contain zero (0) are not
considered blank and will not be
counted because zero is a number.
➢ If a cell contains a formula that
returns an empty text string (""),
Excel will consider the cell blank
and will count that cell.
● COUNTIF
➢ designed for counting cells with a
single condition in one range