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Excelspreadsheet~10 mins

AVERAGE function in Excel - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

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Sample Data

This data shows five numbers in cells A1 to A5. We will find their average.

CellValue
A110
A220
A330
A440
A550
Formula Trace
=AVERAGE(A1:A5)
Step 1: A1:A5
Step 2: SUM(A1:A5)
Step 3: COUNT(A1:A5)
Step 4: SUM(A1:A5) / COUNT(A1:A5)
Step 5: 150 / 5
Cell Reference Map
    A   
  +-----+
1 | 10  |
2 | 20  |
3 | 30  |
4 | 40  |
5 | 50  |
  +-----+

Formula references cells A1 to A5 for calculation.
The formula uses the range A1:A5, which contains the numbers to average.
Result
    A       B   
  +-------+-----+
1 | 10    |     |
2 | 20    |     |
3 | 30    |     |
4 | 40    |     |
5 | 50    | 30  |
  +-------+-----+

Cell B5 shows the result of =AVERAGE(A1:A5), which is 30.
The average of the numbers in A1 to A5 is 30, shown in cell B5.
Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions
Test your understanding
What does the range A1:A5 represent in the formula?
AThe numbers to average
BThe cells where the formula is placed
CThe cells to ignore
DThe total sum
Key Result
AVERAGE(range) sums all numbers in the range and divides by how many numbers there are.