Using Built-In Excel Functions


Excel has a number of functions built into its application interface for you to use. Described below are just a few of the more common ones. With each description is a small example to demonstrate the utility a bit more concretely; please feel free to practice right along with these examples.

Suppose, for the sake of simplicity, that in our examples we are dealing with a small spreadsheet similar to the one shown below:

Let's now look at a few of the available Excel functions in turn:

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Summation



This function is invoked with the command SUM, followed by a parenthetical list of arguments (numbers or cell names) containing the data you wish to sum. The sum of all the values in the list of arguments is the result, and is stored in the cell in which you invoked the command. It is assumed that all arguments are numerical.

You may also enter the SUM function with the Autosum button, , which can be found on the Toolbar. Now click here for a brief description of how to use the Autosum function.

You may either click and type directly into a cell, or you can use the box located below the Ruler to type in your summation formula.
Reminder: All formulas must begin with an "=" sign.

Examples

   =SUM(3, 2)            equals  5
   =SUM("3", 2)          equals  5

Now, suppose cell A1 contains 4 as its value. Then:

   =SUM(A1, 2)           equals  6

If cells A2 through E2 (written as A2:E2) contain the values 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively, then:

   =SUM(A2:C2)           equals  6
   =SUM(B2:E2, 6)        equals  20
   =SUM(A2, C2:E2)       equals  13

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Counting Numbers



This function will count how many numbers are contained within a list of arguments. Generally speaking, you may want to use COUNT to get the number of entries within a given range of cells. Arguments are assumed to be numerical; any non-numerical arguments that cannot be translated into numbers will be ignored.

You may either click and type directly into a cell, or you can use the box located below the Ruler to type in your count formula.
Reminder: All formulas must begin with an "=" sign. Groups of adjacent cells are referenced with the following notation: initial-cell:final-cell.

Examples

Suppose that we have the following worksheet in progress:

In this example,

   =COUNT(A4:A5)                equals  2
   =COUNT(A2:A5, "2")           equals  4
   =COUNT(A1, A4:A7, "Ten", 5)  equals  3
   =COUNT(B3, A2:A3)            equals  1

If you are only interested in knowing whether a cell has data or not (not necessarily numerical), you can use the COUNTA function. It counts the number of cells with any type of data within a given range.

Using the same example as above,

   =COUNTA(A1, A4:A7)           equals  4
   =COUNTA(A1:A7)               equals  5

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Averaging Numbers



This function will give you the average (or mean) of the data items listed in parenthesis.

Arguments are assumed to be numerical; any non-numerical arguments that cannot be translated into numbers will be ignored. (This includes empty cells: " ").

You may either click and type directly into a cell, or you can use the box located below the Ruler to type in your average formula.
Reminder: All formulas must begin with an "=" sign. Groups of adjacent cells are referenced with the following notation: initial-cell:final-cell.

Examples

If cells A1 through A5 (written as A1:A5) is a column named Scores and contains the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively, then:

   =AVERAGE(A1:A5)              equals  3
   =AVERAGE(Scores)             equals  3
   =AVERAGE(A1:A5, 5)           equals  4
   =AVERAGE(Scores, 2, 3)       equals  4

Notice that the first example could have been written

   SUM(A1:A5)/COUNT(A1:A5)

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Multiplying Numbers



This function multiplies all the numbers given as arguments in parentheses and returns the product. It is invoked using the PRODUCT command.

Arguments that are numbers or empty cells (" ") or text representations of numbers ("2") are counted as valid. Everything else will cause an error.

You may either click and type directly into a cell, or you can use the box located below the Ruler to type in your product formula.
Reminder: All formulas must begin with an "=" sign. Groups of adjacent cells are referenced with the following notation: initial-cell:final-cell.

Examples

If cells A2 through C2 (written as A2:C2) contain the values 5, 15, and 30, respectively, then:

   =PRODUCT(A2:C2)          equals  2,250
   =PRODUCT(A2:C2, 2)       equals  4,500

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