Chapter 1 F ORMULAS IN E XCEL

CALCULATE PRODUCTION PER HOUR

Data for some employees is recorded in a worksheet. They work a varied

number of hours each day to produce clocks. By calculating the number of
pieces each employee produces per hour, it can be determined who is the
most productive employee.

X To see who is the most productive employee:

1. In a worksheet, enter your own data or the data shown in Figure 1–1.
2. Select cells D2:D7.
3. Enter the following formula: =C2/(B2*24).
4. Press <Ctrl+Enter> to fill the selected cell range with the current
entry.
5. From the toolbar select Home and go to Number.
6. Click the dropdown arrow and select Format Cells.
7. Select the Number tab and then select Number from the Category
list.
8. Set Decimal places to 2.
9. Click OK.

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2 MICROSOFT EXCEL FUNCTIONS & FORMULAS–4E

FIGURE 1–1

Beckham is the most productive. He produces an average of just below

22 clocks per hour.

CALCULATE THE AGE OF A PERSON IN DAYS

A worksheet lists the names of friends in column A and their birth dates in
column B. To calculate the number of days each person has been alive, enter
the current date in cell B1 and perform the following steps:

X To calculate the age of a person in days:

1. In a worksheet, enter your own data or the data shown in Figure 1–2.
2. Select cells C5:C9.
3. Enter the following formula: =$B$1-B5.
4. Press <Ctrl+Enter>.
5. From the toolbar select Home and go to Number.
 FORMULAS IN EXCEL 3

6. Click the dropdown arrow and select Format Cells.

7. Select the Number tab and then select General from the Category
list.
8. Click OK.

FIGURE 1–2

NOTE The formula must have an absolute reference to cell B1, which is available
by going to the formula bar, highlighting the cell reference, and pressing F4
until the appropriate reference appears or you can enter a ‘$’ before the ‘B’
and the ‘1’. This tells Excel not to change either the ‘B’ or the ‘1’ when copy-
ing the formula to another cell.

CALCULATE A PRICE REDUCTION

All prices in a price list need to be reduced by a certain percentage. The

amount of the price reduction is 15%; this is entered in cell C1.
4 MICROSOFT EXCEL FUNCTIONS & FORMULAS–4E

X To reduce all prices by a certain percentage:

1. In a worksheet, enter your own data or the data shown in Figure 1–3.
2. Select cell C1 and type −15%.
3. Select cells C4:C8.
4. Enter the following formula: =B4+(B4*$C$1).
5. Press <Ctrl+Enter>.

FIGURE 1–3

NOTE Please note that the formula must have an absolute reference to cell C1. Also,
columns B and C are formatted with the Currency style, which is available
by clicking on the $ button in the Home ribbon toolbar.

CONVERT CURRENCY

In a worksheet, currency need to be converted from dollars (column B) to

euros (column C). The rate of exchange from dollars to euros is placed in cell
C1; here we use 0.747.
 FORMULAS IN EXCEL 5

X To convert currency:
1. In a worksheet, enter your own data or the data shown in Figure 1–4.
2. Select cells C4:C8.
3. Enter the following formula: =B4*$C$1.
4. Press <Ctrl+Enter>.
5. Press <Ctrl+1> to show the dialog Format Cells.
6. Select the Number tab and then select Currency from the
Category list.
7. Choose the required € Euro format.
8. Click OK.

FIGURE 1–4

NOTE To convert euros back to dollars, use the following formula: =C4/$C$1.