AutoFill for formula copying in Google Sheets - Real Business Scenario

Scenario Mode

👤 Your Role: You are a sales analyst at a retail company.

📋 Request: Your manager wants you to calculate the total sales for each product by multiplying the quantity sold by the price per unit. Then, you need to quickly apply this calculation to all products in the list.

📊 Data: You have a table with columns: Product Name, Quantity Sold, and Price per Unit.

🎯 Deliverable: A completed table with a new column showing Total Sales for each product, calculated using a formula copied down automatically.

Sample Data

Product Name	Quantity Sold	Price per Unit
Apples	10	0.50
Bananas	15	0.30
Cherries	7	1.20
Dates	20	1.50
Elderberries	5	2.00

1

Step 1: In the first empty cell of the new column next to 'Price per Unit' (cell D2), enter the formula to calculate total sales for the first product.

=B2*C2

Expected Result

5 (because 10 * 0.50 = 5)

2

Step 2: Use the AutoFill handle (small square at the bottom-right corner of cell D2) to drag the formula down to the last product row (D6).

Drag fill handle from D2 down to D6

Expected Result

D3=4.5, D4=8.4, D5=30, D6=10

3

Step 3: Verify that each row's total sales is correctly calculated by multiplying the quantity sold by the price per unit.

Check that D3 = B3*C3, D4 = B4*C4, etc.

Expected Result

All total sales values match the multiplication of quantity and price for each product.

Final Result

Product Name | Quantity Sold | Price per Unit | Total Sales
----------------------------------------------------------
Apples       | 10            | 0.50           | 5.00
Bananas      | 15            | 0.30           | 4.50
Cherries     | 7             | 1.20           | 8.40
Dates        | 20            | 1.50           | 30.00
Elderberries | 5             | 2.00           | 10.00

✓AutoFill quickly copies formulas to multiple rows, saving time.

✓Each product's total sales is calculated correctly by multiplying quantity and price.

✓Using AutoFill reduces errors compared to typing formulas manually.

Bonus Challenge

Add a new column that calculates a 10% sales tax on the total sales for each product, and use AutoFill to apply the formula to all rows.

Show Hint

In the first cell of the new column, enter =D2*0.10 and then drag the fill handle down.