Selecting data for charts in Excel - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

Monthly sales data for the first four months of the year.

Cell	Value
A1	Month
B1	Sales
A2	Jan
B2	100
A3	Feb
B3	150
A4	Mar
B4	130
A5	Apr
B5	170

Formula Trace

=SUM(B2:B5)

Step 1: B2:B5

Step 2: SUM(100, 150, 130, 170)

Cell Reference Map

    A       B
1  Month   Sales
2  Jan     100  <-- Included in range
3  Feb     150  <-- Included in range
4  Mar     130  <-- Included in range
5  Apr     170  <-- Included in range

The formula references cells B2 to B5 which contain the sales data.

Result

    A       B       C
1  Month   Sales   Total Sales
2  Jan     100     550
3  Feb     150
4  Mar     130
5  Apr     170

The formula in cell C2 sums the sales from B2 to B5 and shows 550 as total sales.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the range B2:B5 represent in the formula?

A The months from Jan to Apr

B The sales data for Jan to Apr

C The total sales

D The headers of the table

Key Result

SUM(range) adds all numbers in the selected range of cells.