0
0
Excelspreadsheet~10 mins

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

Choose your learning style9 modes available
LearnWhyDeepSheetTryChallengeScenarioRecallDash
Sample Data

A list of fruit names in cells A1 to A5. Cell B1 contains the fruit name to find in the list.

CellValue
A1Apple
A2Banana
A3Cherry
A4Date
A5Elderberry
B1Banana
Formula Trace
=MATCH(B1, A1:A5, 0)
Step 1: MATCH("Banana", {"Apple", "Banana", "Cherry", "Date", "Elderberry"}, 0)
Cell Reference Map
    A       B
1 | Apple   | Banana |
2 | Banana  |        |
3 | Cherry  |        |
4 | Date    |        |
5 | Elderberry|      |
The formula looks for the value in B1 ("Banana") inside the range A1:A5.
Result
    A       B       C
1 | Apple   | Banana | 2 |
2 | Banana  |        |   |
3 | Cherry  |        |   |
4 | Date    |        |   |
5 | Elderberry|      |   |
The MATCH formula in cell C1 returns 2 because "Banana" is the second item in the list A1:A5.
Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions
Test your understanding
What does the MATCH function return when searching for "Banana" in A1:A5?
A3
B2
C1
D0
Key Result
MATCH(value, range, 0) returns the position of the exact value in the range.