Excel ppt ch 2

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall. 1

by Mary Anne Poatsy, Keith Mulbery, Lynn Hogan, Amy Rutledge, Cyndi Krebs, Eric Cameron, Rebecca Lawson

Chapter 2

Formulas and Functions

• Use relative, absolute, and mixed cell

references in formulas

• Correct circular references

• Insert a function

• Insert basic math and statistical functions

• Use date functions

2Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

• Determine results with the IF function

• Use lookup functions

• Calculate payments with the PMT function

• Create and maintain range names

• Use range names in formulas


• Excel offers three types of cell references for

use when a formula is copied

– Absolute $A$1

– Relative A1

– Mixed $A1 or A$1

• $ indicates that the row number or column

letter will not be modified during a copy

4

Copyright © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice

Hall.

• A relative cell reference indicates a cell’s

relative location from the cell containing the

formula.


• An absolute cell reference provides a

permanent reference to a specific cell


• In mixed reference $B4, the column is fixed,

but the row may be altered during a copy

• In mixed reference B$4, the row is fixed, but

the column may be altered during a copy


• A circular reference error occurs if a formula

refers to itself


• An Excel function is a predefined formula that

performs a calculation


• Syntax is the set of rules that govern correct

formation of a function

• An argument is an input, such as a cell or

range

• A function begins with the equal sign (=)

followed by the function name and arguments

in parentheses

Example: =SUM(A1:A3)


• When a function is typed, Formula

AutoComplete displays a list of functions

matching the partial entry


• A function ScreenTip is a small pop-up

description that displays the function

arguments.


• Use the Insert Function dialog box to search

for a function or select one from a list


• The Function Arguments dialog box offers

help on each argument


• The SUM function returns the mathematical

sum of some number of cells or ranges; for

example:

=SUM(A1:A3)

=SUM(A1,B3,C5)

=SUM(A1:B3,C5:E8)


• Common statistical functions include:

– AVERAGE arithmetic mean

– MEDIAN midpoint value

– MIN minimum value

– MAX maximum value

– COUNT number of values in range

– COUNTBLANK number of empty cells

– COUNTA number of nonempty cells




• A nested function occurs when one function is

embedded as an argument to another function;

for example:

=IF(A1<A2,MIN(B1:B5),MAX(B1:B5))

– Compute the MIN function if A1 is less than A2

– Compute the MAX function if A1 is not less than

A2


• Since dates are numeric, calculations can be

performed, such as subtraction

• The TODAY function displays the current date

• The NOW function displays the current date

and time


• =IF(logical_test, value_if_true,value_if_false)

• The IF function has three arguments:

– A condition that is tested to determine if it is

either true or false

– The resulting value if the condition is true

– The resulting value if the condition is false


• The logical test is built from the logical

operators



• Lookup functions are used to look up values

in a table to perform calculations or display

results

– For example, a teacher may want to look up an

average in order to assign a grade


• When searching a range, the breakpoint is the

lowest value for a category or series

• A lookup table typically lists breakpoints in

one column and return values in a second

column


• The VLOOKUP function searches a lookup

table for a value and returns the result from the

related column

• VLOOKUP has three required arguments:

– Lookup value

– Table array (range of lookup table)

– Column index of return value



• The HLOOKUP function is used when the

breakpoints and return data are placed in rows

• The third argument now lists the row index


• The PMT financial function calculates the

periodic payment for a loan with a fixed

interest rate and term length

• PMT has three required arguments:

– Interest rate (rate)

– Number of periods (nper)

– Present value (pv)



• A range name is a word or string of characters

assigned to one or more cells

• Range names make formulas easier to read


• Range names use the following rules:

– 1 to 255 characters

– Begin with a letter or underscore (_)

– Contain letters, digits, periods, underscores

• Valid names include Rate, Tax_Rate,

Rate_2012


• Excel offers a variety of methods to enter a

range name after selecting the cells:

– Type the range name in the Name Box area

– Enter the name using New Name dialog box


• Use the Name Manager dialog box to edit or

delete a range name


• In this chapter, you have learned to write formulas

using relative, absolute, and mixed cell references

as well as correcting circular references and

inserting functions.

• You have learned about statistical and date

functions, such as SUM, AVERAGE, and

TODAY.

• You have explored the IF, VLOOKUP, and PMT

functions.

• You learned to create and use range names.



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electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the

prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of

America.

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Excel ppt ch 2