ARRAYFORMULA function in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This data shows names in column A and their scores in column B.

Cell	Value
A1	Name
A2	Alice
A3	Bob
A4	Charlie
B1	Score
B2	80
B3	90
B4	85

Formula Trace

=ARRAYFORMULA(B2:B4 * 2)

Step 1: B2:B4

Step 2: B2:B4 * 2

Step 3: ARRAYFORMULA(B2:B4 * 2)

Cell Reference Map

    A       B       C
1 | Name  | Score |       
2 | Alice |  80   |       
3 | Bob   |  90   |       
4 | Charlie| 85   |       

Formula in C2: =ARRAYFORMULA(B2:B4 * 2)
Arrows: B2:B4 → C2:C4

The formula in cell C2 references the range B2:B4 to multiply each score by 2 and outputs results in C2 to C4.

Result

    A       B       C
1 | Name  | Score | Double Score
2 | Alice |  80   | 160         
3 | Bob   |  90   | 180         
4 | Charlie| 85   | 170         

The ARRAYFORMULA outputs the doubled scores in column C for each row corresponding to the scores in column B.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the ARRAYFORMULA function do in this example?

A It multiplies each score in B2:B4 by 2 and outputs all results at once.

B It multiplies only the first score in B2 by 2.

C It sums all scores in B2:B4 and multiplies the total by 2.

D It copies the scores from B2:B4 without changes.

Key Result

ARRAYFORMULA applies a formula to an entire range and outputs an array of results.