formulas and functions - part 1

Tip: What is a formula?

Formulas are equations that perform calculations on the values in a worksheet. For basic information on formulas, refer to “Overview of formulas”.

1. Click cell G10.

2. Click the formula bar and enter “=”.

Tip: Formulas always start with the equals sign (=) Formulas consist of cell numbers, values and symbols that follow. The following is an example of a formula. This formula multiplies the value of cell A1 by 100. Equals sign The cell number Symbols To perform multiplication, place an asterisk (*) between the cell numbers or values. For detail on the available symbols, refer to “Overview of formulas”. Values

3. Click cell G5 then enter plus sign (+).

Tip: Available arithmetic operations Other arithmetic operations aside from the plus sign (+) are also available. Plus sign (+): Addition Minus sign (-): Subtraction Asterisk (*): Multiplication Forward slash (/): Division Percent sign (%): Percent Caret (^): Exponentiation

4. Repeat step 3 for cells G6, G7, G8. Finally, click G9.

5. Press the Enter key.

The values in cells G5 to G9 are added together and the result is displayed in cell G10.

Tip: Overview of formulas For more information about calculation with formulas, refer to Overview of formulas.

This is an example of a formula. Using functions, you can do the same calculation more easily.

Example of functions

Practice: What is a function? For basic information on functions, refer to “Step up! Let’s create a personal account book with Excel”.

1. Click cell G10.

2. Click the Formulas tab.

3. Click AutoSum in the Function Library on the Formulas tab.

The calculation range is automatically recognized. In the formula bar, a formula using a SUM function is displayed.

Tip: What does this formula in the formula bar and in the table mean? This formula consists of two elements. SUM(G5:G9): “SUM” is a function that gives you the sum total of the values of the cells that are enclosed within the parentheses. SUM(G5:G9): “G5:G9” means “all the cells from cell ‘G5’ to ‘G9’”. In this case, they are cell G5, G6, G7, G8 and G9. You can select a continuous range of cells by putting a colon (:) between the beginning cell and the ending cell.

4. Press Enter.

The values of the cells enclosed within the parentheses are added together and the amount is displayed as the result calculated by the formula.