EXPLORING MICROSOFT OFFICE 2013

VOLUME 1

by Mary Anne Poatsy, Keith

Mulbery, Lynn Hogan, Amy
Rutledge, Cyndi Krebs, Eric
Cameron, Rebecca Lawson

Chapter 2
Formulas and Functions

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario. 1

 OBJECTIVES
• Use relative, absolute, and mixed cell
references in formulas
• Correct circular references
• Insert a function
• Insert basic math and statistical functions
• Use date functions

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 OBJECTIVES (CONTINUED)
• Determine results with the IF function
• Use lookup functions
• Calculate payments with the PMT function
• Create and maintain range names
• Use range names in formulas

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 CELL REFERENCES
• Excel offers three types of cell references for
use when a formula is copied
– Absolute $A$1
– Relative A1
– Mixed $A1 or A$1
• $ indicates that the row number or column
letter will not be modified during a copy

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario.

 CELL REGERENCES
Excel offers three types of cell references for use when a
formula is copied. An absolute cell reference (for
example, $A$1) indicates that the address will be fixed
and will not be altered during a copy operation. A
relative reference (for example, A1) indicates that the
address will be adjusted relative to its new location. A
mixed reference (for example, $A1 or A$1) has one part
that is absolute and the other relative.

The F4 key can be used to toggle through the four types

of cell references.
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 RELATIVE CELL REFERENCES
• A relative cell reference indicates a cell’s
relative location from the cell containing the
formula.

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 ABSOLUTE CELL REFERENCES
• An absolute cell reference provides a
permanent reference to a specific cell

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 MIXED CELL REFERENCES
• In mixed reference $B4, the column is fixed,
but the row may be altered during a copy
• In mixed reference B$4, the row is fixed, but
the column may be altered during a copy
• A mixed cell reference contains a fixed
column and relative row or a fixed row and a
relative column.

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AVOIDING CIRCULAR REFERENCES
• A circular reference error occurs if a formula
refers to itself

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 FUNCTION BASICS
• An Excel function is a predefined formula that
performs a calculation

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 FUNCTION TERMINOLOGY
• Syntax is the set of rules that govern correct
formation of a function
• An argument is an input, such as a cell or
range
• A function begins with the equal sign (=)
followed by the function name and arguments
in parentheses
Example: =SUM(A1:A3)

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 INSERTING A FUNCTION
• When a function is typed, Formula
AutoComplete displays a list of functions
matching the partial entry

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 INSERTING A FUNCTION
• A function ScreenTip is a small pop-up
description that displays the function
arguments.

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 INSERT FUNCTION DIALOG BOX
• Use the Insert Function dialog box to search
for a function or select one from a list

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 FUNCTION ARGUMENTS DIALOG BOX
• The Function Arguments dialog box offers
help on each argument

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 FUNCTION ARGUMENTS DIALOG BOX
• Once a function is selected, the Function
Arguments dialog box opens with information
on each argument syntax. Figure 2.13
illustrates the Function Arguments dialog box.

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 TOTALING VALUES WITH SUM
• The SUM function returns the mathematical
sum of some number of cells or ranges; for
example:
=SUM(A1:A3)
=SUM(A1,B3,C5)
=SUM(A1:B3,C5:E8)

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 TOTALING VALUES WITH SUM
• The SUM function returns the mathematical sum of some number of
cells or ranges. Multiple cells or ranges are separated by a comma.
Examples include:
• =SUM(A1:A3), which returns the sum of values in the range A1
to A3
• =SUM(A1,B3,C5), which returns the sum of values in the three
cells A1, B3, and C5
• =SUM(A1:B3,C5:E8), which returns the sum of values in the
range A1 to B3 and C5 to E8

• Do not use a formula as an argument in this case. For example,

=SUM(A1+A2) computes the addition of A1 and A2, and then returns
the sum of that one value. It is a misuse of the SUM function.

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 BASIC STATISTICAL FUNCTIONS
• Common statistical functions include:
– AVERAGE arithmetic mean
– MEDIAN midpoint value
– MIN minimum value
– MAX maximum value
– COUNT number of values in range
– COUNTBLANK number of empty cells
– COUNTA number of nonempty cells

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BASIC STATISTICAL FUNCTIONS

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OTHER MATH & STATISTICAL FUNCTIONS

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 USING FUNCTIONS AS ARGUMENTS
• A nested function occurs when one function
is embedded as an argument to another
function; for example:
=IF(A1<A2,MIN(B1:B5),MAX(B1:B5))
– Compute the MIN function if A1 is less than A2
– Compute the MAX function if A1 is not less than
A2

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 DATE FUNCTIONS
• Since dates are numeric, calculations can be
performed, such as subtraction
• The TODAY function displays the current date
• The NOW function displays the current date
and time

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 DAE FUNCTIONS
• Since dates are numeric, calculations can be
performed, such as subtraction. This is useful,
for example, to compute the number of days
that have passed between two dates. The
=TODAY( ) function displays the current date.
Although the function has no arguments,
empty parentheses are required. The =NOW( )
function displays the current date and time.

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 DETERMINING RESULTS WITH THE IF
FUNCTION
• =IF(logical_test, value_if_true,value_if_false)
• The IF function has three arguments:
– A condition that is tested to determine if it is
either true or false
– The resulting value if the condition is true
– The resulting value if the condition is false

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 DETERMINING RESULTS WITH THE IF
FUNCTION
• The IF function enables a worksheet to display
different results depending on a logical
condition. For example, the IF function could
be used to evaluate whether an employee has
met a sales quota and display a bonus of either
$500 or $0. The IF function has three
arguments including the logical test, result if
the condition is true, and result if the condition
is false.

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 DESIGNING THE LOGICAL TEST
• The logical test is built from the logical
operators

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USING THE IF FUNCTION

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 USING LOOKUP FUNCTIONS
• Lookup functions are used to look up values
in a table to perform calculations or display
results
– For example, a teacher may want to look up an
average in order to assign a grade

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 CREATING A LOOKUP TABLE
• When searching a range, the breakpoint is the
lowest value for a category or series
• A lookup table typically lists breakpoints in
one column and return values in a second
column

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 VLOOKUP FUNCTION
• The VLOOKUP function searches a lookup
table for a value and returns the result from the
related column
• VLOOKUP has three required arguments:
– Lookup value
– Table array (range of lookup table)
– Column index of return value

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 VLOOKUP FUNCTION
• The VLOOKUP function is passed a value to look up,
the range of the lookup table, and the column number
containing the return value. For example,
=VLOOKUP(A1,$B$4:$C$8,2) requests that value A1
be looked up in the table extending from B4 through
C8.

The function then returns the corresponding value in the

second column. If there is not an exact match with the
value in the first column, Excel uses the row before the
first breakpoint that is larger than the value.
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USING THE VLOOKUP FUNCTION

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 HLOOKUP FUNCTION
• The HLOOKUP function is used when the
breakpoints and return data are placed in rows
• The third argument now lists the row index

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 CALCULATING PAYMENTS WITH THE PMT
FUNCTION
• The PMT financial function calculates the
periodic payment for a loan with a fixed
interest rate and term length
• PMT has three required arguments:
– Interest rate (rate)
– Number of periods (nper)
– Present value (pv)

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 CALCULATING PAYMENTS WITH THE PMT
FUNCTION
• The financial function PMT can be used to compute a
payment on a loan amount given a fixed interest rate and
payment periods. It is important that all terms use the same
time units. Given a monthly interest rate and the number of
months, PMT will compute a monthly payment.

You may need to divide an annual interest rate by 12 to

obtain a monthly rate. You may need to multiply the number
of years by 12 to produce the number of months. The result
of the PMT function is a negative value. You can negate the
present value to return a positive value.

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USING THE PMT FUNCTION

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 USING THE PMT FUNCTION
• It returns the monthly payment based upon a
monthly interest rate stored in B6, the number
of months stored in B8, and the loan amount
stored in B3.

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 RANGE NAMES
• A range name is a word or string of characters assigned
to one or more cells
• Range names make formulas easier to read
• Range names can be used to provide user-friendly names
for cells or cell ranges. The range name can be used in a
formula instead of the cell reference. For example,
assume cell A1 stores hours worked and cell A2 stores an
hourly pay rate. The formula =A1*A2 could be used to
compute pay. If cell A1 was named Hours and cell A2
was named Rate, the same formula could be written
=Hours*Rate.
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 RANGE NAME RULES
• Range names use the following rules:
– 1 to 255 characters
– Begin with a letter or underscore (_)
– Contain letters, digits, periods, underscores
• Valid names include Rate, Tax_Rate, Rate_2012
• A correct range name must follow several rules. The length
can be no longer than 255 characters, and the name must
begin with a letter or underscore character.
• Valid characters within the name include upper- or
lowercase letters, digits, periods, or underscores. Blanks or
other punctuation are not allowed.

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 CREATING A RANGE NAME
• Excel offers a variety of methods to enter a
range name after selecting the cells:
– Type the range name in the Name Box area
– Enter the name using New Name dialog box

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 CREATING A RANGE NAME
• A range name can be entered manually into the
Name Box area after selecting the affected
cells. Alternatively, Figure 2.31 illustrates use
of the New Name dialog box available from
the Define Name command in the Defined
Names group on the Formulas tab.

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 MAINTAINING RANGE NAMES
• Use the Name Manager dialog box to edit or
delete a range name

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 MAINTAINING RANGE NAMES
• Once a range name has been created, it can be
edited or deleted. Figure 2.33 illustrates use of
the Name Manager dialog box available from
the Defined Names group on the Formulas tab.
If a range name is altered, Excel automatically
adjusts all formulas using the name. If a range
name is deleted, formulas that used the range
are marked as invalid with the #NAME? error
message.

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 SUMMARY
• In this chapter, you have learned to write formulas
using relative, absolute, and mixed cell references
as well as correcting circular references and
inserting functions.
• You have learned about statistical and date
functions, such as SUM, AVERAGE, and TODAY.
• You have explored the IF, VLOOKUP, and PMT
functions.
• You learned to create and use range names.

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 COPYRIGHT

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the
prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of
America.

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