Formula-based rules in Excel - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

📊 Formula Result

intermediate

What is the result of this conditional formatting formula?

You apply this formula-based rule to cell A1:

=AND(A1>10, ISNUMBER(A1))

If A1 contains the value 15, what will the formula return?

A TRUE

B FALSE

C #VALUE!

D 0

💡 Hint

Think about what AND does when both conditions are true.

The formula checks if A1 is greater than 10 and is a number. Since 15 is a number and greater than 10, both conditions are true, so AND returns TRUE.

❓ Function Choice

intermediate

Which formula-based rule highlights cells with text starting with 'Sale'?

You want to create a formula-based rule that highlights cells in column B if the text starts with the word 'Sale'. Which formula should you use?

A =RIGHT(B1,4)="Sale"

B =LEFT(B1,4)="Sale"

C =SEARCH("Sale", B1)=1

D =ISNUMBER(FIND("Sale", B1))

💡 Hint

Check which function extracts the first characters of the text.

LEFT(B1,4) extracts the first 4 characters. If they equal "Sale", the formula returns TRUE and highlights the cell. SEARCH and FIND check for presence but not necessarily at the start.

📊 Formula Result

advanced

What is the output of this formula-based rule for cell C3?

Given the formula-based rule:

=OR(C3="", ISERROR(C3))

What will the formula return if C3 contains the formula =VLOOKUP(100, A1:B5, 2, FALSE) and the lookup value 100 is not found?

A TRUE

B FALSE

C #N/A error

D #VALUE! error

💡 Hint

Consider what ISERROR returns when a formula results in an error.

If VLOOKUP does not find 100, it returns #N/A error. ISERROR detects any error and returns TRUE. OR returns TRUE if either condition is TRUE, so the formula returns TRUE.

❓ data_analysis

advanced

How many cells will be highlighted by this formula-based rule?

You apply this formula-based rule to range D1:D10:

=AND(ISNUMBER(D1), D1>AVERAGE($D$1:$D$10))

If the values in D1:D10 are:
5, 8, 12, 3, 15, 7, 10, 6, 9, 4

How many cells will be highlighted?

A 6

B 3

C 5

D 4

💡 Hint

Calculate the average first, then count how many numbers are greater than it.

Average of values is (5+8+12+3+15+7+10+6+9+4)/10 = 7.9. Numbers greater than 7.9 are 8, 12, 15, 10, 9 (5 cells).

🎯 Scenario

expert

Which formula-based rule highlights cells with dates in the past 7 days?

You want to highlight cells in column E that contain dates within the last 7 days from today. Which formula-based rule will correctly do this?

A =E1>TODAY()-7

B =AND(E1>TODAY()-7, E1<TODAY())

C =E1>=TODAY()-7

D =AND(E1>=TODAY()-7, E1<=TODAY())

💡 Hint

Remember to include both start and end dates in the range.

Option D checks if the date is between today minus 7 days and today inclusive, correctly capturing the last 7 days. Other options miss the upper or lower bound or exclude today.

Practice

1. What does a formula-based rule in Excel do when the formula returns TRUE?

easy

A. It changes the cell's appearance based on the rule.

B. It deletes the cell content.

C. It copies the cell to another sheet.

D. It locks the cell from editing.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand formula-based rules

   Formula-based rules use formulas that return TRUE or FALSE to decide if formatting applies.

2. Step 2: Effect of TRUE result

   If the formula returns TRUE, Excel applies the formatting like color or font change to the cell.

3. Final Answer:

   It changes the cell's appearance based on the rule. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   TRUE formula triggers formatting [OK]

Hint: TRUE formulas trigger formatting changes in cells [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking the rule deletes or moves data
• Confusing formatting with locking cells
• Assuming FALSE triggers formatting

2. Which of these is the correct formula to highlight cells greater than 50 in conditional formatting?

easy

A. IF(A1>50)

B. A1>50

C. =A1>50

D. =IF(A1>50)

Solution

1. Step 1: Check formula syntax for conditional formatting

   Conditional formatting formulas must start with '=' and return TRUE or FALSE.

2. Step 2: Validate each option

   =A1>50 uses correct syntax and returns TRUE or FALSE directly. IF(A1>50) and A1>50 miss '='. =IF(A1>50) uses incomplete IF without value_if_true and value_if_false.

3. Final Answer:

   =A1>50 -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Formula must start with '=' and return TRUE/FALSE [OK]

Hint: Always start formulas with '=' in conditional formatting [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Omitting '=' at the start
• Using incomplete IF statements
• Writing formulas that don't return TRUE/FALSE

3. Given the formula-based rule with formula =AND(A1>10, A1<20), which cells will be formatted?

medium

A. All cells regardless of value

B. Cells with values equal to 10 or 20

C. Cells with values less than 10 or greater than 20

D. Cells with values between 10 and 20, excluding 10 and 20

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the AND formula conditions

   The formula checks if A1 is greater than 10 AND less than 20 simultaneously.

2. Step 2: Determine which values satisfy both conditions

   Only values strictly between 10 and 20 (not including 10 or 20) make the formula TRUE.

3. Final Answer:

   Cells with values between 10 and 20, excluding 10 and 20 -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   AND(A1>10, A1<20) means 10 < A1 < 20 [OK]

Hint: AND means all conditions must be TRUE simultaneously [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Including boundary values 10 or 20
• Confusing AND with OR logic
• Thinking it formats all cells

4. You wrote the formula =A1>100 for conditional formatting but no cells are highlighted even though some values are above 100. What is the likely problem?

medium

A. The formula is missing the '=' sign at the start.

B. The formula is correct but the range is not set properly.

C. The formula should use IF(A1>100) instead.

D. Conditional formatting does not support comparison operators.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check formula correctness

   The formula '=A1>100' is correct syntax for conditional formatting.

2. Step 2: Consider the formatting range

   If no cells highlight, likely the conditional formatting rule is applied to the wrong or empty range.

3. Final Answer:

   The formula is correct but the range is not set properly. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Correct formula + wrong range = no formatting [OK]

Hint: Check the range where the rule is applied [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Removing '=' sign
• Using IF unnecessarily
• Believing conditional formatting can't compare values

5. You want to highlight cells in column A that are either blank or contain a number less than 50. Which formula-based rule should you use?

hard

A. =OR(ISBLANK(A1), A1<50)

B. =AND(ISBLANK(A1), A1<50)

C. =IF(A1="", TRUE, A1<50)

D. =NOT(ISBLANK(A1))

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the condition requirements

   We want to format cells that are blank OR have a number less than 50.

2. Step 2: Choose the correct logical formula

   OR(ISBLANK(A1), A1<50) returns TRUE if either condition is met, matching the requirement.

3. Final Answer:

   =OR(ISBLANK(A1), A1<50) -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use OR for either condition TRUE [OK]

Hint: Use OR to combine multiple conditions [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using AND instead of OR
• Misusing IF inside conditional formatting
• Ignoring blank cells condition