Conditional formatting basics in Excel - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This table shows test scores for 5 students in cells A2 to A6.

Cell	Value
A1	Score
A2	45
A3	75
A4	60
A5	30
A6	90

Formula Trace

=A2>50

Step 1: A2

Step 2: 45 > 50

Cell Reference Map

    A   
1 |Score|
2 | 45  | <-- referenced by formula
3 | 75  |
4 | 60  |
5 | 30  |
6 | 90  |

The formula references cell A2 to check if its value is greater than 50.

Result

    A   
1 |Score|
2 | 45  | (No formatting applied)
3 | 75  | (Would be highlighted if formula applied here)
4 | 60  | (Would be highlighted if formula applied here)
5 | 30  | (No formatting applied)
6 | 90  | (Would be highlighted if formula applied here)

Cells with values greater than 50 would be highlighted by conditional formatting. Here, A3, A4, and A6 would be highlighted, but A2 and A5 would not.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the formula =A2>50 check in conditional formatting?

A If the value in A2 equals 50

B If the value in A2 is less than 50

C If the value in A2 is greater than 50

D If the value in A2 is empty

Key Result

Conditional formatting formulas evaluate to TRUE or FALSE to decide if formatting applies.