WHERE clause for filtering 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

=FILTER(A2:C5, B2:B5>28)

Step 1: B2:B5>28

Step 2: FILTER(A2:C5, [TRUE, FALSE, TRUE, FALSE])

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 formula uses the Age column (B2:B5) to filter rows from the full table A2:C5.

Result

    A       B       C
1 |Name   | Age   | City    |
2 |Alice  | 30    | New York|
3 |Charlie| 35    | Chicago |

The FILTER formula returns only rows where Age is greater than 28, showing Alice and Charlie's data.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the expression B2:B5>28 return?

A [TRUE, FALSE, TRUE, FALSE]

B [FALSE, TRUE, FALSE, TRUE]

C [TRUE, TRUE, TRUE, TRUE]

D [FALSE, FALSE, FALSE, FALSE]

Key Result

FILTER(range, condition) returns rows from range where condition is TRUE.

Practice

1. What does the WHERE clause do in a Google Sheets QUERY function?

easy

A. It sorts the data alphabetically.

B. It filters rows based on a condition.

C. It adds new columns to the data.

D. It changes the data format.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of WHERE clause

   The WHERE clause is used to select only rows that meet a specific condition.

2. Step 2: Compare options with WHERE clause function

   Sorting, adding columns, or changing format are not done by WHERE; filtering rows is correct.

3. Final Answer:

   It filters rows based on a condition. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   WHERE clause = filters rows [OK]

Hint: WHERE filters rows by condition inside QUERY [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing WHERE with sorting or formatting
• Thinking WHERE adds columns
• Assuming WHERE changes data types

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to filter rows where column A equals 100 in a QUERY function?

easy

A. SELECT * WHERE A = 100

B. SELECT * WHERE A == 100

C. SELECT * WHERE A equals 100

D. SELECT * WHERE A := 100

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall QUERY syntax for equality

   In QUERY, single equals sign (=) is used to compare values.

2. Step 2: Check each option's syntax

   A uses word 'equals', invalid; B uses '==', invalid; C uses '=', correct; D uses ':=', invalid in QUERY.

3. Final Answer:

   SELECT * WHERE A = 100 -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use '=' for equality in WHERE [OK]

Hint: Use single '=' for equality in QUERY WHERE [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using '==' instead of '='
• Writing 'equals' as word
• Using ':=' or other operators

3. Given this QUERY: =QUERY(A1:C5, "SELECT A, B WHERE C > 50") and data:
A=Name, B=Score, C=Age
Rows:
1: John, 80, 45
2: Mary, 90, 55
3: Alex, 70, 60
4: Lisa, 85, 40
What rows will the query return?

medium

A. Mary and Alex

B. No rows

C. All rows

D. John and Lisa

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the WHERE condition

   The query filters rows where column C (Age) is greater than 50.

2. Step 2: Check each row's Age value

   John (45) and Lisa (40) are not >50; Mary (55) and Alex (60) are >50, so only Mary and Alex are included.

3. Final Answer:

   Mary and Alex -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Filter C > 50 returns Mary, Alex [OK]

Hint: Check numeric condition on column values carefully [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Including rows with C ≤ 50
• Confusing column letters
• Assuming all rows return

4. What is wrong with this QUERY formula? =QUERY(A1:B10, "SELECT A, B WHERE B > 20 AND")

medium

A. SELECT must include C column

B. Incorrect column letters

C. WHERE clause cannot use AND

D. Missing condition after AND

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the WHERE clause syntax

   The WHERE clause ends with 'AND' but no condition follows, which is invalid syntax.

2. Step 2: Check other options

   Column letters A and B are valid; AND is allowed but must be followed by a condition; SELECT does not require column C.

3. Final Answer:

   Missing condition after AND -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   AND must have conditions on both sides [OK]

Hint: Ensure AND has conditions on both sides [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Leaving AND at end without condition
• Misnaming columns
• Thinking AND is not allowed

5. You want to filter rows where column B contains the text 'apple' (case insensitive) using QUERY. Which WHERE clause is correct?

hard

A. WHERE lower(B) = 'apple'

B. WHERE B contains 'apple'

C. WHERE lower(B) contains 'apple'

D. WHERE B = 'apple'

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand case-insensitive text filtering

   To ignore case, convert text to lowercase using lower(), then check if it contains 'apple'.

2. Step 2: Evaluate each option

   A uses equality after lower() for exact match only; C uses contains without lower(), case-sensitive; D is case-sensitive exact equality; B uses lower() with contains correctly for case-insensitive partial match.

3. Final Answer:

   WHERE lower(B) contains 'apple' -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Use lower() with contains for case-insensitive filter [OK]

Hint: Use lower() with contains for case-insensitive text filter [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using = instead of contains for partial match
• Ignoring case sensitivity
• Using contains without lower()