COUNTIF and COUNTIFS in Google Sheets - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the formula to count how many cells in range A1:A10 contain the number 5.

Google Sheets

=COUNTIF(A1:A10, [1])

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A"5"

B"=5"

C5

D>=5

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using >=5 counts all numbers greater or equal, not just 5.

To count cells equal to 5, you can use the number 5 without quotes.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the formula to count cells in B1:B20 that contain text starting with "apple".

Google Sheets

=COUNTIF(B1:B20, [1])

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A"apple*"

B"*apple*"

C"*apple"

D"apple"

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using "apple" counts only cells exactly equal to "apple".

Using "*apple" counts cells ending with "apple", not starting.

To count cells starting with "apple", use the wildcard * after the word: "apple*".

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the formula to count cells in C1:C15 that are greater than 10.

Google Sheets

=COUNTIF(C1:C15, [1])

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A10

B>10

C>=10

D">10"

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Writing >10 without quotes causes a formula error.

Using 10 counts cells equal to 10, not greater.

The criteria must be a text string, so use ">10" with quotes.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to count cells where A1:A10 are "Yes" and B1:B10 are greater than 50.

Google Sheets

=COUNTIFS(A1:A10, [1], B1:B10, [2])

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A"Yes"

B>50

C">50"

D"No"

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using >50 without quotes causes an error.

Using Yes without quotes causes an error.

COUNTIFS needs criteria as text strings. Use "Yes" and ">50" in quotes.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to count cells where D1:D20 start with "A", E1:E20 equal 100, and F1:F20 are less than 50.

Google Sheets

=COUNTIFS(D1:D20, [1], E1:E20, [2], F1:F20, [3])

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A"A*"

B100

C"<50"

D"=100"

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Not using wildcards for text matching.

Use "A*" to match text starting with A, "=100" for exact number 100, and "<50" for less than 50, all as text strings.

Practice

1. What does the COUNTIF function do in Google Sheets?

easy

A. Adds values in cells that meet a condition.

B. Counts the number of cells that meet a single condition.

C. Counts the total number of cells in a range.

D. Finds the average of cells that meet multiple conditions.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of COUNTIF

   COUNTIF is designed to count cells that satisfy one specific condition.

2. Step 2: Compare with other functions

   Unlike SUMIF or AVERAGEIFS, COUNTIF only counts cells, not sums or averages.

3. Final Answer:

   Counts the number of cells that meet a single condition. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   COUNTIF counts cells with one condition [OK]

Hint: COUNTIF counts cells matching one rule only [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing COUNTIF with SUMIF
• Thinking COUNTIF handles multiple conditions
• Assuming COUNTIF calculates averages

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax for the COUNTIFS function?

easy

A. COUNTIFS(range, criterion)

B. COUNTIFS(criterion1, range1, criterion2, range2)

C. COUNTIFS(range1, criterion1, range2, criterion2)

D. COUNTIFS(range1; criterion1; range2; criterion2)

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall COUNTIFS syntax

   COUNTIFS requires pairs of ranges and criteria: first range1 with criterion1, then range2 with criterion2, etc.

2. Step 2: Check option formats

   COUNTIFS(range1, criterion1, range2, criterion2) correctly shows pairs in order with commas. COUNTIFS(range1; criterion1; range2; criterion2) uses semicolons which is incorrect in Google Sheets.

3. Final Answer:

   COUNTIFS(range1, criterion1, range2, criterion2) -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   COUNTIFS needs range-criterion pairs separated by commas [OK]

Hint: COUNTIFS needs pairs: range then criterion, separated by commas [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Swapping order of range and criterion
• Using semicolons instead of commas
• Providing only one range and criterion

3. Given the data in column A: {10, 20, 30, 40, 50}, what is the result of =COUNTIFS(A1:A5, ">=20", A1:A5, "<=40")?

medium

A. 3

B. 5

C. 4

D. 2

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify values meeting first condition

   Values >=20 are 20, 30, 40, 50 (4 values).

2. Step 2: Identify values meeting second condition

   Values <=40 are 10, 20, 30, 40 (4 values).

3. Step 3: Find values meeting both conditions

   Common values are 20, 30, 40 (3 values).

4. Final Answer:

   3 -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   COUNTIFS counts cells meeting all conditions [OK]

Hint: COUNTIFS counts cells meeting all conditions simultaneously [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Counting values that meet only one condition
• Misreading comparison operators
• Including values outside both conditions

4. You wrote =COUNTIFS(A1:A5, ">10", B1:B5, "<20") but it returns 0. The data in A1:A5 is {5, 15, 25, 35, 45} and in B1:B5 is {10, 20, 20, 25, 30}. What is the error?

medium

A. The formula syntax is incorrect; COUNTIFS needs only one range.

B. The ranges A1:A5 and B1:B5 must be the same size but they are not.

C. COUNTIFS cannot handle numeric criteria with comparison operators.

D. The criteria should be ">=10" and "<=20" to include boundary values.

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze criteria and data

   Criteria ">10" qualifies 15, 25, 35, 45 in A (rows 2-5). Criteria "<20" qualifies only 10 in B (row 1).

2. Step 2: Check which rows meet both conditions

   Rows where A>10 and B<20: none. Row 1 has B=10<20 but A=5 not >10. Rows 2-3 have A>10 but B=20 not <20. Rows 4-5 have B>20.

3. Step 3: Verify why result is 0

   Formula returns 0 because strict inequalities exclude boundary values like B=20. Changing to ">=10" and "<=20" includes boundaries.

4. Final Answer:

   The criteria should be ">=10" and "<=20" to include boundary values. -> Option D

5. Quick Check:

   Use inclusive operators to count boundary values [OK]

Hint: Use >= and <= to include boundary numbers in COUNTIFS [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using > or < excludes boundary values unintentionally
• Assuming COUNTIFS ignores criteria order
• Thinking COUNTIFS needs only one range

5. You have a sales table with columns: Region (A2:A10), Sales (B2:B10). You want to count how many sales are greater than 1000 in the "East" region. Which formula correctly does this?

hard

A. COUNTIFS(A2:A10, "East", B2:B10, ">1000")

B. COUNTIF(A2:A10, "East") + COUNTIF(B2:B10, ">1000")

C. COUNTIFS(A2:A10, ">1000", B2:B10, "East")

D. COUNTIF(B2:B10, ">1000")

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the conditions

   You want to count rows where Region is "East" AND Sales > 1000.

2. Step 2: Choose correct function and order

   COUNTIFS counts cells meeting multiple conditions. The first range is Region with criterion "East", second range is Sales with criterion ">1000".

3. Step 3: Evaluate other options

   COUNTIF(A2:A10, "East") + COUNTIF(B2:B10, ">1000") adds counts separately, which counts rows twice incorrectly. COUNTIFS(A2:A10, ">1000", B2:B10, "East") swaps ranges and criteria incorrectly. COUNTIF(B2:B10, ">1000") counts only sales > 1000 ignoring region.

4. Final Answer:

   COUNTIFS(A2:A10, "East", B2:B10, ">1000") -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   COUNTIFS counts rows matching all conditions [OK]

Hint: Use COUNTIFS with range-criterion pairs for multiple conditions [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Adding separate COUNTIF results instead of using COUNTIFS
• Swapping criteria and ranges
• Ignoring one condition in formula