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Excelspreadsheet~10 mins

Why Excel is essential for data work - Formula Trace Breakdown

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Sample Data

This table shows sales data for three employees.

CellValue
A1Name
B1Sales
A2Alice
B21200
A3Bob
B31500
A4Charlie
B41000
Formula Trace
=SUM(B2:B4)
Step 1: B2:B4
Step 2: SUM(1200, 1500, 1000)
Cell Reference Map
    A       B
1 | Name  | Sales  |
2 | Alice | 1200   |
3 | Bob   | 1500   |
4 | Charlie| 1000  |

Formula in cell B5: =SUM(B2:B4)
Arrows point from B2, B3, B4 to B5
The formula in B5 sums the sales values from B2 to B4.
Result
    A       B
1 | Name  | Sales  |
2 | Alice | 1200   |
3 | Bob   | 1500   |
4 | Charlie| 1000  |
5 | Total | 3700   |
The total sales of 3700 is shown in cell B5, calculated by summing B2 to B4.
Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions
Test your understanding
What does the formula =SUM(B2:B4) do?
AAdds the numbers in cells B2, B3, and B4
BMultiplies the numbers in cells B2, B3, and B4
CFinds the average of cells B2, B3, and B4
DCounts how many numbers are in B2, B3, and B4
Key Result
SUM(range) adds all numbers in the specified range.