EXCEL BASIC

FUNCTIONS

Resource 2016
DISTINCTION:

Formulas are mathematical equations used to perform

calculations in an Excel worksheet or workbook.
 Functions are predefined formulas that perform
calculations in an Excel worksheet or workbook.
 Functions in Excel
Functions are formulas that have
been predefined in Excel. They offer
a quick way to do certain common
calculations.
 Parts of a Function:
• The equal sign indicates that the contents
of the cell will perform a calculation.
• The function name identifies the preset
operation to be performed.
• Arguments are value(s), parameters, or
cell ranges used to complete the
calculation. The argument(s) are enclosed
in parentheses.
 Functions in Excel
Functions can be entered into a cell
in one of three ways:
1 – You can manually type in the
function, parentheses, and
arguments. If you make a mistake,
Excel may give you a warning and
suggestions to correct it.
2 - You can type the function into the cell. As
you start typing, a list of functions that begin
with the same letters will pop up. Clicking on
any of the functions in the list will show you a
description of that function.
Double click on the function you want to use.
Then type in the cell references or click on the
cell or range of cells you want to use in the
formula.
Functions in Excel
3 -The third way to enter a
function is through the
Insert Function dialog box.
You can find this option
on the Formula tab of the
ribbon bar, but the
quickest way to open it is
to click on the button
next to the formula bar.
It inserts an = sign in the
formula bar and opens the
dialog box where you can
search for an appropriate
function.
When you find the
function you want to use,
double click it to open the
Function Arguments
Basic formulas and functions
Functions in Excel
The Function Arguments box will
vary based on the function
selected.
You will see boxes for each part
of the argument for that function.

When cell references are entered

into one of the boxes, Excel will
show the cell contents to the
right.
The box will also show the
results as you enter the
arguments.
Basic formulas and functions
Functions in Excel
Excel offers a shortcut to some
common functions on the HOME tab
ribbon bar. Clicking on the triangle
next to the symbol will bring up
the choices shown here.
You can click on More Functions to
bring up the Insert Function dialog
box shown on the previous slides.
Lastly, there is a FORMULAS tab on
the ribbon bar that holds many
options for inserting and calculating
formulas.
 SUM
The SUM function adds all the
numbers in a list or range of cells.
You can add a row, column or
individual cells.
To select the cells for SUM, you can:
1. Click and drag the mouse to (1
select a range. )
2. Hold the Ctrl button and click on
each cell.
3. Type in the cell reference
numbers. Ranges are entered
with a beginning and ending cell
reference separated by a colon
(1). Individual cells are entered
with a comma between each (2).
(2
)
COMMON FUNCTIONS
Basic formulas and functions

AutoSUM
To quickly add all the numbers in a
column or row, Excel has a
shortcut called AutoSUM on the
ribbon bar.

Select the cell where you want the

results to show. Then click on the
symbol on the ribbon bar.
Excel will attempt to predict the
range of cells to be calculated.

If the range is correct, just hit

enter.

To change the range, you can click

and drag a new range to be
calculated or update the cell
references in the parentheses.
 COUNT and COUNTA
The COUNT function simply
counts the number of cells in the
selected range that contain
numbers. The COUNT function
will not count text or symbols.

The COUNTA function

counts the number of cells in
the selected range that are
not empty. This function
WILL count text, numbers
and symbols.
Basic formulas and functions
MIN and MAX
The MIN function returns the
smallest number in a set of values.

The MAX function returns the

largest value in a set of values.

MIN
Logical values and text within the range =
MAX
will be ignored with both functions. =
 Basic formulas and functions
IF function
The IF function checks whether a
condition is met, and returns one
value if TRUE and another value if
FALSE.
Syntax:
IF(logical_test,value_if_true,value_if_f
alse)
Example:
IF(D2>C2,”INCREASE”,”OK”)
This formula checks to see if the value
in column D is greater than the value
in column C.
If it is, it will show INCREASE in column
E. If not, it puts OK in column E.
Basic formulas and functions
AVERAGE and ROUND
The AVERAGE function returns
the average (arithmetic mean) of
its arguments.
=AVERAGE(A2:A9)
AVERAG
E

The ROUND function rounds a

number to a specified number of
digits.
=ROUND(A2,-3)
This example rounds the numbers
to the next thousand.
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Reference:
Resource 2016