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Formulas are mathematical expressions that operate on cell contents.
When cells contain numerical data, you can add, subtract, multiply, and
divide the cell contents as your worksheet requires. The results of
these operations will be shown in the cell that contains the formula.
Formulas can be simple, like adding two cell values, or quite complex,
involving multiple mathematical operations.
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You can enter a
formula directly into a cell, or by using the formula bar.
When entering
formulas, the formula should be preceded by an equals
sign =. Formulas can contain cell references (like A1) or
raw numbers (like 23) or even functions (like Sum (B2:B9)).
=A1+23,
= D2-C2, =B10+B11-C6 are all valid formulas.
If
you include a cell reference in a formula, and that cell
reference itself contains a second formula, the second formula
will be evaluated, and the result will be used in the first
formula.
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In this worksheet,
We want to multiply Quantity by Price to get total sales.
When Entering the
formula =B2*C2 in the
formula bar, what you type can also be seen in the active cell
(D2). In Excel, The * symbol is the multiplication
operator, So =B2*C2 means, the contents of cell B2
multiplied by the contents of cell C2. When
Enter is pressed, cell D2
will show the result.
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You can tell if a
cell contains a formula by making it active. If there is a
formula in the active cell, it will be shown in the formula bar.
Formulas can
contain multiple cell references from a single worksheet, or
even references from different worksheets or workbooks. |
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