Alternating row colors in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

A simple table of names and scores to apply alternating row colors.

Cell	Value
A1	Name
B1	Score
A2	Alice
B2	85
A3	Bob
B3	90
A4	Charlie
B4	78
A5	Diana
B5	92

Formula Trace

=ISEVEN(ROW())

Step 1: ROW() in cell A2

Step 2: ISEVEN(2)

Cell Reference Map

    A       B
1 | Name  | Score |
2 | Alice |  85   | <-- ROW() returns 2 here
3 | Bob   |  90   |
4 | Charlie| 78   |
5 | Diana |  92   |

The formula uses ROW() to get the current row number for each cell in the range. No other cells are referenced.

Result

    A       B
1 | Name  | Score |
2 | Alice |  85   | <-- Row 2 colored (even)
3 | Bob   |  90   | 
4 | Charlie| 78   | <-- Row 4 colored (even)
5 | Diana |  92   |

Rows 2 and 4 are highlighted with a background color because the formula returns TRUE for even rows, creating alternating row colors.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the formula ROW() return when used in cell A3?

A 2

B 1

C 3

D 0

Key Result

Use ISEVEN(ROW()) to color even-numbered rows for alternating row colors.