Formulas and Functions in Microsoft Excel

FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL
What is Formulas in Excel?

FORMULAS IN EXCEL is an expression that operates on values in a range of
cell addresses and operators. For example, =A1+A2+A3, which finds the sum
of the range of values from cell A1 to cell A3. An example of a formula made
up of discrete values like =6*3.
=A2 * D2 / 2
 "=" tellsExcel that this is a formula, and it should evaluate it.

 "A2" * D2" makes reference to cell addresses A2 and D2 then multiplies
the values found in these cell addresses.
 "/" is the division arithmetic operator
 "2" is a discrete value

Mistakes to avoid when working with formulas in

Excel
1. Remember the rules of Brackets of Division, Multiplication, Addition, &
Subtraction (BODMAS). This means expressions are brackets are
evaluated first. For arithmetic operators, the division is evaluated first
followed by multiplication then addition and subtraction is the last one to
be evaluated. Using this rule, we can rewrite the above formula as =(A2
* D2) / 2. This will ensure that A2 and D2 are first evaluated then divided
by two.
2. Excel spreadsheet formulas usually work with numeric data; you can
take advantage of data validation to specify the type of data that should
be accepted by a cell i.e. numbers only.
3. To ensure that you are working with the correct cell addresses
referenced in the formulas, you can press F2 on the keyboard. This will
highlight the cell addresses used in the formula, and you can cross
check to ensure they are the desired cell addresses.
4. When you are working with many rows, you can use serial numbers for
all the rows and have a record count at the bottom of the sheet. You
should compare the serial number count with the record total to ensure
that your formulas included all the rows.
What is Function in Excel?

FUNCTION IN EXCEL is a predefined formula that is used for specific values
in a particular order. Function is used for quick tasks like finding the sum,
count, average, maximum value, and minimum values for a range of cells. For
example, cell A3 below contains the SUM function which calculates the sum
of the range A1:A2.
 SUM for summation of a range of numbers

 AVERAGE for calculating the average of a given range of numbers
 COUNT for counting the number of items in a given range
The importance of functions

Functions increase user productivity when working with excel. Let’s say
you would like to get the grand total for the above home supplies budget. To
make it simpler, you can use a formula to get the grand total. Using a formula,
you would have to reference the cells E4 through to E8 one by one. You
would have to use the following formula.
= E4 + E5 + E6 + E7 + E8
With a function, you would write the above formula as
=SUM (E4:E8)
As you can see from the above function used to get the sum of a range of
cells, it is much more efficient to use a function to get the sum than using the
formula which will have to reference a lot of cells.
Common functions
Let’s look at some of the most commonly used functions in ms excel formulas.
We will start with statistical functions.
S/N FUNCTION CATEGORY DESCRIPTION USAGE
Math &
01 SUM Adds all the values in a range of cells =SUM(E4:E8)
Trig
02 MIN Statistical Finds the minimum value in a range of cells =MIN(E4:E8)
03 MAX Statistical Finds the maximum value in a range of cells =MAX(E4:E8)
Calculates the average value in a range of

04 AVERAGE Statistical =AVERAGE(E4:E8)
cells
05 COUNT Statistical Counts the number of cells in a range of cells =COUNT(E4:E8)
Returns the number of characters in a string

06 LEN Text =LEN(B7)
text
Adds all the values in a range of cells that

Math &
07 SUMIF meet a specified criteria. =SUMIF(D4:D8,”>=1000″,C4:C8)
Trig
=SUMIF(range,criteria,[sum_range])
Calculates the average value in a range of

08 AVERAGEIF Statistical cells that meet the specified criteria. =AVERAGEIF(F4:F8,”Yes”,E4:E8)
=AVERAGEIF(range,criteria,[average_range])
Date & Returns the number of days between two

09 DAYS =DAYS(D4,C4)
Time dates
Date &
10 NOW Returns the current system date and time =NOW()
Time

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FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL

What is Formulas in Excel?

 "=" tellsExcel that this is a formula, and it should evaluate it.

Mistakes to avoid when working with formulas in

What is Function in Excel?

 SUM for summation of a range of numbers

The importance of functions

S/N FUNCTION CATEGORY DESCRIPTION USAGE

02 MIN Statistical Finds the minimum value in a range of cells =MIN(E4:E8)

03 MAX Statistical Finds the maximum value in a range of cells =MAX(E4:E8)

Calculates the average value in a range of

05 COUNT Statistical Counts the number of cells in a range of cells =COUNT(E4:E8)

Returns the number of characters in a string

Adds all the values in a range of cells that

Calculates the average value in a range of

Date & Returns the number of days between two

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