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Google Sheetsspreadsheet~10 mins

SORT and SORTN functions in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

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Sample Data

This table shows names of students and their scores.

CellValue
A1Name
B1Score
A2Alice
B285
A3Bob
B392
A4Charlie
B478
A5Diana
B590
A6Evan
B688
Formula Trace
=SORTN(A2:B6, 3, 0, 2, FALSE)
Step 1: A2:B6
Step 2: SORT(A2:B6, 2, FALSE)
Step 3: SORTN(..., 3, 0, 2, FALSE)
Cell Reference Map
     A       B
  +-------+-------+
1 | Name  | Score |
  +-------+-------+
2 | Alice |  85   | <--
3 | Bob   |  92   | <--
4 | Charlie| 78   | <--
5 | Diana |  90   | <--
6 | Evan  |  88   | <--

Arrows show the data range A2:B6 used in the formula.
The formula uses the range A2:B6 which contains names and scores.
Result
     D       E
  +-------+-------+
1 | Name  | Score |
  +-------+-------+
2 | Bob   |  92   |
3 | Diana |  90   |
4 | Evan  |  88   |

This is the output of the formula =SORTN(A2:B6, 3, 0, 2, FALSE) showing top 3 scores sorted descending.
The formula result shows the top 3 students with highest scores sorted from highest to lowest.
Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions
Test your understanding
What does the number 3 mean in the formula =SORTN(A2:B6, 3, 0, 2, FALSE)?
AIt limits the output to top 3 rows.
BIt sorts by the 3rd column.
CIt sorts ascending.
DIt skips the first 3 rows.
Key Result
SORTN(range, n, display_ties_mode, sort_column, is_ascending) returns top n rows sorted by a column.