Excel 2016 Introduction

Lesson – Creating Simple Formulas

Excel 2016

U SING F ORMULAS  D ISCUSSION

Formulas are used to perform calculations on values entered into the cells of a worksheet. They consist of the addresses of the cells containing the values and the appropriate mathematical operators. Formulas always begin with an equal sign ( = ) because they contain cell addresses. The equal sign prevents Excel from interpreting the formula as text, since cell addresses begin with letters. For example, to add the numbers in cells A1 and A2, you would type the formula =A1+A2 .

You enter the formula in the cell where you want the result to appear. Since formulas use cell addresses, they automatically recalculate whenever the value in any cell used in the formula changes. When a cell containing a formula is selected, the formula appears in the formula bar and the calculated results of the formula appear in the cell.

The mathematical operators that can be used in a formula are listed in the following table:

Operator

Performs

+ (plus sign)

Addition

- (minus sign)

Subtraction

* (asterisk)

Multiplication

/ (slash)

Division

Controls the order of mathematical operations; calculations within parentheses are performed first Converts a number into a percentage; for example, when you type 10% , Excel reads the value as .10 Exponentiation; for example, when you type 2^3 , Excel reads the value as 2*2*2

( ) (parentheses)

% (percent)

^ (caret)

When more than one operator appears in a formula, it is calculated using the standard mathematical order of precedence. This order determines which operations are carried out first. The order of precedence is as follows:

parentheses

· · · ·

exponentiation

multiplication and division addition and subtraction

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