FIND and SEARCH in Google Sheets - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

📊 Formula Result

intermediate

Find the position of a substring using FIND

What is the result of the formula =FIND("cat", "concatenate") in Google Sheets?

Google Sheets

=FIND("cat", "concatenate")

A 1

B 4

C 5

D Error

💡 Hint

Remember that FIND returns the position of the first character of the substring, counting from 1.

The substring "cat" starts at the 4th character in "concatenate" (c-o-n-ca-t-e-n-a-t-e). FIND is case-sensitive and returns 4.

📊 Formula Result

intermediate

SEARCH function with case insensitivity

What is the output of =SEARCH("Dog", "My dog is cute") in Google Sheets?

Google Sheets

=SEARCH("Dog", "My dog is cute")

A 4

B 1

C 7

D Error

💡 Hint

SEARCH is not case-sensitive, so it finds "Dog" even if the text has "dog" in lowercase.

SEARCH finds "Dog" starting at the 4th character in "My dog is cute" ignoring case.

❓ Function Choice

advanced

Choosing between FIND and SEARCH for case sensitivity

You want to find the position of "Apple" in the text "I like apple pie" but only if the case matches exactly. Which function should you use?

A SEARCH("apple", "I like apple pie")

B SEARCH("Apple", "I like apple pie")

C FIND("apple", "I like apple pie")

D FIND("Apple", "I like apple pie")

💡 Hint

FIND is case-sensitive, SEARCH is not.

FIND("Apple", "I like apple pie") returns an error because "Apple" with uppercase A is not found exactly. SEARCH would find it ignoring case. Since you want exact case match, FIND is correct.

🎯 Scenario

advanced

Extracting text after a keyword using FIND

You have the text "Order ID: 12345" in cell A1. Which formula extracts the number after "Order ID: " correctly?

A =MID(A1, FIND("Order ID: ", A1) + 10, LEN(A1))

B =MID(A1, FIND("Order ID: ", A1) + 9, LEN(A1))

C =RIGHT(A1, LEN(A1) - FIND("Order ID: ", A1))

D =MID(A1, SEARCH("Order ID: ", A1) + 9, LEN(A1))

💡 Hint

Count the length of the keyword "Order ID: " including the space to find the start position of the number.

The keyword "Order ID: " is 10 characters long. FIND returns the start position of the keyword, so adding 10 moves to the first character of the number. MID extracts from there to the end.

❓ data_analysis

expert

Counting occurrences of a substring using SEARCH

You want to count how many times the substring "cat" appears in cell A1 containing "catapult cat category scatter". Which approach is correct?

A =LEN(A1) - LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A1, "cat", ""))

B =COUNTIF(A1, "*cat*")

C =ARRAYFORMULA(SUM((LEN(A1) - LEN(SUBSTITUTE(LOWER(A1), "cat", ""))) / LEN("cat")))

D =SEARCH("cat", A1)

💡 Hint

Use SUBSTITUTE to remove the substring and compare lengths before and after to count occurrences.

Option C converts text to lowercase, removes all "cat" substrings, and calculates how many times "cat" appeared by length difference divided by substring length. Other options either count cells or find only first occurrence.

Practice

1. What is the main difference between the FIND and SEARCH functions in Google Sheets?

easy

A. FIND is case-sensitive; SEARCH is not case-sensitive.

B. SEARCH returns the length of the text; FIND returns the position.

C. FIND works only with numbers; SEARCH works only with text.

D. SEARCH is case-sensitive; FIND is not case-sensitive.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the behavior of FIND

   The FIND function looks for text inside another text and cares about uppercase and lowercase letters.

2. Step 2: Understand the behavior of SEARCH

   The SEARCH function also looks for text but ignores case differences.

3. Final Answer:

   FIND is case-sensitive; SEARCH is not case-sensitive. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Case sensitivity difference = FIND is case-sensitive; SEARCH is not case-sensitive. [OK]

Hint: Remember FIND cares about case; SEARCH ignores case [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking SEARCH is case-sensitive
• Confusing FIND with SEARCH output types
• Believing FIND works only with numbers

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to find the position of "cat" in cell A1 using the FIND function?

easy

A. =FIND("cat")

B. =FIND(A1, "cat")

C. =FIND("cat", A1)

D. =FIND(A1)

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall FIND function syntax

   The syntax is =FIND(search_for, text_to_search_in). So the text to find comes first, then the cell.

2. Step 2: Match syntax with options

   =FIND("cat", A1) matches the correct syntax: =FIND("cat", A1). Others have wrong order or missing arguments.

3. Final Answer:

   =FIND("cat", A1) -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Correct syntax = =FIND("cat", A1) [OK]

Hint: Remember FIND needs text to find first, then where to find [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Swapping the order of arguments
• Omitting required arguments
• Using only one argument

3. Given cell A1 contains the text "Hello World", what will be the result of =SEARCH("world", A1)?

medium

A. 7

B. 8

C. #VALUE! error

D. 6

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand SEARCH ignores case

   The text "world" is found in "Hello World" starting at the 7th character (space is 6th).

2. Step 2: Calculate position

   Counting characters: H(1) e(2) l(3) l(4) o(5) space(6) W(7) o(8) r(9) l(10) d(11). SEARCH finds "world" at position 7.

3. Final Answer:

   7 -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   SEARCH ignores case, position 7 = 7 [OK]

Hint: SEARCH ignores case; count characters including spaces [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming case sensitivity causes error
• Counting position starting at 0 instead of 1
• Confusing FIND and SEARCH behavior

4. You used the formula =FIND("apple", B2) but it returns an error. What is the most likely reason?

medium

A. FIND cannot search for words longer than 5 characters.

B. The text "apple" is not found exactly with matching case in B2.

C. B2 contains a number, and FIND only works with text.

D. The formula syntax is incorrect; FIND needs three arguments.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check FIND function behavior

   FIND is case-sensitive and returns an error if the text is not found exactly.

2. Step 2: Analyze possible causes

   If "apple" with exact lowercase letters is not in B2, FIND returns an error. Syntax is correct with two arguments, and FIND works with text regardless of length.

3. Final Answer:

   The text "apple" is not found exactly with matching case in B2. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Case-sensitive search missing text = The text "apple" is not found exactly with matching case in B2. [OK]

Hint: Check exact case match when FIND returns error [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking FIND needs three arguments
• Assuming FIND works only with text, not numbers
• Believing FIND limits word length

5. You want to find the position of the second occurrence of "cat" in cell A1 containing "scatter cat" using FIND. Which formula will correctly find it?

hard

A. =SEARCH("cat", A1, 2)

B. =FIND("cat", A1) + FIND("cat", A1)

C. =FIND("cat", A1, 2)

D. =FIND("cat", A1, FIND("cat", A1) + 1)

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand FIND's start position parameter

   FIND can start searching from a specific position. To find the second occurrence, start after the first occurrence.

2. Step 2: Use nested FIND to locate second occurrence

   First FIND("cat", A1) finds position of first "cat". Adding 1 moves start to next character. Then FIND("cat", A1, first_position + 1) finds second occurrence.

3. Final Answer:

   =FIND("cat", A1, FIND("cat", A1) + 1) -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Nested FIND with start position = =FIND("cat", A1, FIND("cat", A1) + 1) [OK]

Hint: Use FIND inside FIND to locate second occurrence [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Adding FIND results instead of nesting
• Using SEARCH without case consideration
• Starting search at fixed position 2 instead of after first find