Line charts in Google Sheets - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

📊 Formula Result

intermediate

Calculate the average sales for a line chart

You have monthly sales data in cells A2:A13. Which formula correctly calculates the average sales to be used as a reference line in your line chart?

A =AVERAGE(A2:A13)

B =SUM(A2:A13)

C =COUNT(A2:A13)

D =MAX(A2:A13)

💡 Hint

Think about the formula that finds the middle value of a range.

The =AVERAGE() function calculates the mean of the numbers in the range, which is useful for showing an average line in a chart.

❓ Function Choice

intermediate

Choose the function to create a cumulative total for a line chart

You want to show a running total of sales over months in a line chart. Which formula in cell B2, copied down, correctly calculates the cumulative total from sales in column A?

A =SUM(A$2:A2)

B =SUM(A2:A$13)

C =SUM($A$2:A2)

D =SUM(A2:A2)

💡 Hint

Look for a formula that fixes the start of the range but allows the end to move down as you copy.

The formula =SUM(A$2:A2) fixes the start row at 2 and expands the end row as you copy down, creating a running total.

🎯 Scenario

advanced

Identify the correct data range for a line chart with multiple series

You have sales data for three products in columns B, C, and D from rows 2 to 13. Column A has the months. You want to create a line chart showing all three products over time. Which data range should you select?

A B2:D13

B A1:D13

C A2:D13

D A1:C13

💡 Hint

Remember to include the header row and the column with months for the chart to label the x-axis correctly.

Including the header row (row 1) and the months column (A) ensures the chart has labels and all product data.

❓ data_analysis

advanced

Analyze the effect of missing data points on a line chart

If your sales data for some months is missing (cells are blank) in a line chart, what will Google Sheets do by default when plotting the line?

A It will show an error message and not create the chart

B It will break the line at missing points, showing gaps

C It will treat missing data as zero and plot accordingly

D It will connect the points with a straight line, skipping the missing data

💡 Hint

Think about how line charts usually handle missing points to keep the trend visible.

By default, Google Sheets connects points with a line, ignoring blanks to keep the trend continuous.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

Determine the number of data points plotted in a line chart

You create a line chart using data in cells A1:B10. Column A has dates, and column B has sales values. If cells B4 and B7 are empty, how many points will the line chart plot?

A 9 points

B 10 points

C 8 points

D 7 points

💡 Hint

Count how many sales values are not empty in the range.

There are 10 rows total, but 2 sales values are missing, so only 8 points are plotted.