P E W

Lesson 7a: Microsoft Excel (P2)

Formulas and Functions
Course: FUNDAMENTAL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Feb 2025
Contents
I. Intro to Formulas
II. Creating More Complex Formulas
III. Relative and Absolute Cell References
IV. Understanding Number Formats
V. Functions
VI. How to use Excel's VLOOKUP function
VII. How to use Excel’s IF function
VIII. Some useful function (Self Study at home)
I. Intro to Formulas
A - Overview
• One of the most powerful features in Excel is the ability to calculate numerical
information using formulas.
• Just like a calculator, Excel can add, subtract, multiply, and divide.
• In this lesson, we'll show you how to use cell references to create simple formulas.

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B - Mathematical operators
Excel uses standard operators for formulas, such as:
• a plus sign for addition (+),
• a minus sign for subtraction (-),
• an asterisk for multiplication (*),
• a forward slash for division (/),
• and a caret (^) for exponents.

All formulas in Excel must begin with an equals sign (=). This is because the cell contains,
or is equal to, the formula and the value it calculates.

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C - Understanding cell references
• While you can create simple formulas in Excel using numbers (for example, =2+2 or
=5*5), most of the time you will use cell addresses to create a formula.
• This is known as making a cell reference.
• Using cell references will ensure that your formulas are always accurate because you can
change the value of referenced cells without having to rewrite the formula.
In the formula below, cell A3 adds the values of cells A1 and A2 by making cell references:

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C - Understanding cell references
When you press Enter, the formula calculates and displays the answer in cell A3:

If the values in the referenced cells change, the formula automatically recalculates:

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C - Understanding cell references
• By combining a mathematical operator with cell references, you can create a variety of
simple formulas in Excel.
• Formulas can also include a combination of cell references and numbers, as in the
examples below:

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To create a formula:

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To create a formula:

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D - Modifying values with cell references
The true advantage of cell references is that they allow you to update data in your worksheet
without having to rewrite formulas. In the example below, we've modified the value of cell D10
from $1,200 to $1,800. The formula in D12 will automatically recalculate and display the new
value in cell D12.

Excel will not always tell you if your formula contains an error, so it's up to you to
check all of your formulas.

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To create a formula using the point-and-click method:

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To create a formula using the point-and-click method:

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 Copying formulas with the fill handle
Formulas can also be copied to adjacent cells with
the fill handle, which can save a lot of time and
effort if you need to perform the same calculation
multiple times in a worksheet. The fill handle is the
small square at the bottom-right corner of the
selected cell(s).

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To edit a formula:

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To edit a formula:

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E - Challenge!

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II. Creating More Complex Formulas
A - Overview
• You may have experience working with formulas that contain only one operator, such
as 7+9.
• More complex formulas can contain several mathematical operators, such as 5+2*8.
• When there's more than one operation in a formula, the order of operations tells Excel
which operation to calculate first.
• To write formulas that will give you the correct answer, you'll need to understand the
order of operations.

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The order of operations

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 Creating complex formulas
In the example below, we'll demonstrate how Excel uses the order of operations to solve a more complex
formula. Here, we want to calculate the cost of sales tax for a catering invoice. To do this, we'll write our
formula as =(D3+D4+D5)*0.075 in cell D6. This formula will add the prices of our items, then multiply that
value by the 7.5% tax rate (which is written as 0.075) to calculate the answer.

Excel follows the order of operations and first adds the values inside the parentheses: (45.80+68.70+159.60) =
274.10. It then multiplies that value by the tax rate: 274.10*0.075. The result will show that the sales tax is
$20.56.

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Creating complex formulas

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To create a complex formula using the order of operations:

In the example below, we'll use cell references along with numerical values to create a
complex formula that will calculate the subtotal for a catering invoice. The formula will
calculate the cost of each menu item first, then add these values.

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To create a complex formula using the order of operations:

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B - Challenge!
For this challenge, you are going to work with another invoice like the one in our example. In
the invoice, you will find the amount of tax for the order, the order's total, and the order's total
if you were given a 10% discount.

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III. Relative and Absolute Cell References
A - Overview
• There are two types of cell references: relative and absolute.
• Relative and absolute references behave differently when copied and filled to other
cells.
• Relative references change when a formula is copied to another cell.
• Absolute references, on the other hand, remain constant no matter where they are
copied.

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B - Relative references
• By default, all cell references are relative references.
• When copied across multiple cells, they change based on the relative position of rows and
columns. For example, if you copy the formula =A1+B1 from row 1 to row 2, the formula
will become =A2+B2.
• Relative references are especially convenient whenever you need to repeat the same
calculation across multiple rows or columns.

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To create and copy a formula using relative references:
In the following example, we want to create a formula that will multiply each item's price by
the quantity. Instead of creating a new formula for each row, we can create a single formula
in cell D4 and then copy it to the other rows. We'll use relative references so the formula
calculates the total for each item correctly.

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To create and copy a formula using relative references:

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To create and copy a formula using relative references:

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C - Absolute references
• There may be times when you do not want a cell reference to change when filling cells.
Unlike relative references, absolute references do not change when copied or filled. You
can use an absolute reference to keep a row and/or column constant.
• An absolute reference is designated in a formula by the addition of a dollar sign ($) before
the column and row. If it precedes the column or row (but not both), it's known as a mixed
reference.

• When writing a formula in Microsoft Excel, you can press the F4 key on your keyboard to
switch between relative, absolute, and mixed cell references, as shown in the video below.
This is an easy way to quickly insert an absolute reference.
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To create and copy a formula using absolute references:
In the example below, we're going to use cell E2 (which contains the tax rate at 7.5%) to
calculate the sales tax for each item in column D. To make sure the reference to the tax rate
stays constant—even when the formula is copied and filled to other cells—we'll need to make
cell $E$2 an absolute reference.

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To create and copy a formula using absolute references:

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To create and copy a formula using absolute references:

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To create and copy a formula using absolute references:

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D - Using cell references with multiple worksheets
• Excel allows you to refer to any cell on any worksheet, which can be especially helpful if
you want to reference a specific value from one worksheet to another.
• To do this, you'll simply need to begin the cell reference with the worksheet name followed
by an exclamation point (!). For example, if you wanted to reference cell A1 on Sheet1, its
cell reference would be Sheet1!A1.
• Note that if a worksheet name contains a space, you'll need to include single quotation
marks (' ') around the name. For example, if you wanted to reference cell A1 on a worksheet
named July Budget, its cell reference would be 'July Budget'!A1.

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To reference cells across worksheets:
In our example below, we'll refer to a cell with a calculated value between two worksheets. This will allow us to
use the exact same value on two different worksheets without rewriting the formula or copying data.

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To reference cells across worksheets:

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E - Challenge!

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IV. Functions
A - Overview

• A function is a predefined formula that performs calculations using specific values in a

particular order.
• Excel includes many common functions that can be used to quickly find the sum,
average, count, maximum value, and minimum value for a range of cells.
• In order to use functions correctly, you'll need to understand the different parts of a
function and how to create arguments to calculate values and cell references.

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B - The parts of a function
• In order to work correctly, a function must be written a specific way, which is called the
syntax.
• The basic syntax for a function is the equals sign (=), the function name (SUM, for
example), and one or more arguments.
• Arguments contain the information you want to calculate.
• The function in the example below would add the values of the cell range A1:A20.

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C - Working with arguments
• Arguments can refer to both individual cells and cell ranges and must be enclosed within
parentheses. You can include one argument or multiple arguments, depending on the syntax
required for the function.
• For example, the function =AVERAGE(B1:B9) would calculate the average of the values
in the cell range B1:B9. This function contains only one argument.

• Multiple arguments must be separated by a comma.

For example, the function =SUM(A1:A3, C1:C2,
E1) will add the values of all of the cells in the three
arguments.

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D - Creating a function

There are a variety of functions available in Excel. Here are some of the most common
functions you'll use:
• SUM: This function adds all of the values of the cells in the argument.
• AVERAGE: This function determines the average of the values included in the argument. It
calculates the sum of the cells and then divides that value by the number of cells in the
argument.
• COUNT: This function counts the number of cells with numerical data in the argument.
This function is useful for quickly counting items in a cell range.
• MAX: This function determines the highest cell value included in the argument.
• MIN: This function determines the lowest cell value included in the argument.

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To create a function using the AutoSum command:
The AutoSum command allows you to automatically insert the most common functions into
your formula, including SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MIN, and MAX. In the example below,
we'll use the SUM function to calculate the total cost for a list of recently ordered items.

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To create a function using the AutoSum command:

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To create a function using the AutoSum command:

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To enter a function manually:
If you already know the function name, you can easily type it yourself. In the example below
(a tally of cookie sales), we'll use the AVERAGE function to calculate the average number
of units sold by each troop.

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To enter a function manually:

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E - The Function Library
• While there are hundreds of functions in Excel, the ones you'll use the most will depend
on the type of data your workbooks contain.
• There's no need to learn every single function, but exploring some of the different types
of functions will help you as you create new projects.
• You can even use the Function Library on the Formulas tab to browse functions by
category, such as Financial, Logical, Text, and Date & Time.
• To access the Function Library, select the Formulas tab on the Ribbon. Look for the
Function Library group.

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To insert a function from the Function Library:
In the example below, we'll use the COUNTA function to count the total number of items in
the Items column. Unlike COUNT, COUNTA can be used to tally cells that contain data of
any kind, not just numerical data.

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To insert a function from the Function Library:

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To insert a function from the Function Library:

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F - The Insert Function command
• While the Function Library is a great place to browse for functions, sometimes you may
prefer to search for one instead.
• You can do so using the Insert Function command.
• It may take some trial and error depending on the type of function you're looking for;
however, with practice, the Insert Function command can be a powerful way to find a
function quickly.

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To use the Insert Function command:
In the example below, we want to find a function that will calculate the number of business
days it took to receive items after they were ordered. We'll use the dates in columns E and F
to calculate the delivery time in column G.

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To use the Insert Function command:

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To use the Insert Function command:

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To use the Insert Function command:

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G - Challenge!

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V. How to use Excel's LOOKUP function
A – What exactly is VLOOKUP?
• Basically, VLOOKUP lets you search for specific information in your spreadsheet. For
example, if you have a list of products with prices, you could search for the price of a
specific item.

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V. How to use Excel's LOOKUP function
B – Other Examples

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V. How to use Excel's LOOKUP function
B – Other Examples

OR

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V. How to use Excel's LOOKUP function
C – HLOOKUP?
• HLOOKUP works like VLOOKUP, but it searches horizontally across the top row of a
table. It’s useful when your data is organized in rows instead of columns.

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V. How to use Excel's LOOKUP function
C – HLOOKUP?
• HLOOKUP works like VLOOKUP, but it searches horizontally across the top row of a
table. It’s useful when your data is organized in rows instead of columns.

VLOOKUP

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V. How to use Excel's LOOKUP function
C – HLOOKUP?
• HLOOKUP works like VLOOKUP, but it searches horizontally across the top row of a
table. It’s useful when your data is organized in rows instead of columns.

VLOOKUP

HLOOKUP

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V. How to use Excel's LOOKUP function
C – HLOOKUP?

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VI. How to use Excel's IF function
A – What exactly is IF function?
• Such formulas test whether a series of conditions evaluate to TRUE or FALSE
• You can also use the IF conditional formula that checks if a calculation evaluates as TRUE
or FALSE.
• You can then tell IF to return one value (text, number, or logical value) if the calculation is
TRUE or a different value if it is FALSE.
• You can use the AND and OR functions to create conditional formulas that result in a
logical value, that is, TRUE or FALSE.

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VI. How to use Excel's IF function
A – What exactly is IF function?

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VII.Some useful function

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VII.Some useful function

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VII.Some useful function

For more information, please read the textbook “Excel 2016”- Chapter 10 “Using Advanced Formulas”
– page 170
It may be helpful for your examination!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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END