Selecting cells, rows, and columns in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

A simple table listing names, ages, and cities of three people.

Cell	Value
A1	Name
B1	Age
C1	City
A2	Alice
B2	30
C2	New York
A3	Bob
B3	25
C3	Los Angeles
A4	Carol
B4	27
C4	Chicago

Formula Trace

=SUM(B2:B4)

Step 1: B2:B4

Step 2: SUM([30, 25, 27])

Cell Reference Map

30

↓

25

↓

27

The formula =SUM(B2:B4) uses the cells in column B from row 2 to 4.

Result

    A       B       C       D
1 | Name  | Age   | City     | Total Age |
2 | Alice |  30   | New York |          |
3 | Bob   |  25   | Los Angeles |        |
4 | Carol |  27   | Chicago  |          |
5 |       |       |          |    82    |

The sum of ages 30, 25, and 27 is 82, shown in cell D5 as the total age.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

Which cells does the formula =SUM(B2:B4) add together?

A Cells C2, C3, and C4

B Cells A2, A3, and A4

C Cells B2, B3, and B4

D Cells B1, B2, and B3

Key Result

Selecting a range like B2:B4 picks all cells in column B from row 2 to 4.