Appending queries in Excel - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

📊 Formula Result

intermediate

Appending Two Tables Vertically

You have two tables in Excel: Table1 with 3 rows and Table2 with 2 rows. You want to append Table2 below Table1 using Power Query. Which step correctly appends these tables?

A Use the 'Append Queries' option and select Table1 as the primary table and Table2 as the table to append.

B Use the 'Merge Queries' option to combine Table1 and Table2 side by side.

C Copy Table2 and paste it below Table1 in the worksheet manually.

D Use the 'Append Queries as New' option and select only Table1.

💡 Hint

Appending means stacking tables vertically, not side by side.

To append tables in Power Query, you use the 'Append Queries' feature and select the tables to stack vertically. 'Merge Queries' combines tables side by side, which is not appending.

❓ Function Choice

intermediate

Choosing the Right Power Query Function to Append

Which Power Query function is used internally to append two tables vertically?

A Table.Combine

B Table.Join

C Table.SelectRows

D Table.AddColumn

💡 Hint

Appending means combining rows from tables.

Table.Combine merges multiple tables by stacking their rows, which is the append operation in Power Query.

🎯 Scenario

advanced

Appending Queries with Different Column Names

You have two queries: Query1 has columns 'Name' and 'Age', Query2 has columns 'FullName' and 'Age'. You want to append these queries so that the 'Name' and 'FullName' columns align as one column in the result. What should you do before appending?

A Append the queries directly; Power Query will automatically match columns by meaning.

B Delete the 'FullName' column in Query2 before appending.

C Rename the 'FullName' column in Query2 to 'Name' before appending.

D Merge the queries instead of appending.

💡 Hint

Columns must have the same name to combine their data when appending.

Power Query matches columns by name when appending. Renaming 'FullName' to 'Name' ensures data aligns correctly.

📊 Formula Result

advanced

Result of Appending Queries with Mismatched Columns

You append two queries in Power Query: Query1 has columns A and B; Query2 has columns A and C. What will be the result?

A Power Query will raise an error due to mismatched columns.

B The result will have columns A, B, and C; rows from Query1 will have null in C, rows from Query2 will have null in B.

C The result will only have columns A and B; column C will be dropped.

D The result will only have columns A and C; column B will be dropped.

💡 Hint

Appending combines all columns from both tables, filling missing values with null.

When appending tables with different columns, Power Query includes all columns and fills missing values with nulls.

❓ data_analysis

expert

Analyzing Performance Impact of Appending Large Queries

You have two very large queries with millions of rows each. You append them in Power Query. Which of the following is the most likely impact on performance and memory usage?

A Appending merges data without increasing memory usage significantly.

B Appending only loads the first query into memory until you expand the second.

C Appending automatically compresses data to reduce memory usage.

D Appending doubles the data size in memory, potentially causing slowdowns or crashes.

💡 Hint

Appending stacks all rows, increasing total data size.

Appending large queries combines all rows, increasing memory usage and possibly slowing down processing or causing crashes if memory is insufficient.