QUERY function basics in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This table lists people with their names, ages, and cities.

Cell	Value
A1	Name
B1	Age
C1	City
A2	Alice
B2	30
C2	New York
A3	Bob
B3	25
C3	Los Angeles
A4	Charlie
B4	35
C4	Chicago
A5	Diana
B5	28
C5	New York

Formula Trace

=QUERY(A1:C5, "SELECT Col1, Col2 WHERE Col3 = 'New York'", 1)

Step 1: QUERY(A1:C5, "SELECT Col1, Col2 WHERE Col3 = 'New York'", 1)

Step 2: Filter rows where C = 'New York'

Step 3: Select columns A and B from filtered rows

Step 4: Include header row from A1:C1 for columns A and B

Step 5: Final output

Cell Reference Map

     A       B       C
1 | Name  | Age   | City     |
2 | Alice | 30    | New York |
3 | Bob   | 25    | Los Angeles |
4 | Charlie | 35  | Chicago  |
5 | Diana | 28    | New York |

The QUERY function uses the range A1:C5, which includes headers and data rows.

Result

   A      B
1 | Name | Age |
2 | Alice| 30  |
3 | Diana| 28  |

The result shows only the Name and Age of people living in New York, including the header row.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the QUERY function do in this example?

A Shows all data without filtering

B Selects all columns for people older than 30

C Selects Name and Age for people living in New York

D Selects only the City column

Key Result

QUERY(range, "SELECT columns WHERE condition", header_rows) filters and returns specified columns based on a condition.