Why date calculations drive business logic in Google Sheets - Test Your Understanding

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the formula to calculate the number of days between two dates in Google Sheets.

Google Sheets

=DATEDIF(A1, [1], "D")

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

AB1

BC1

CA2

DB2

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using the same cell for both dates.

Using a text string instead of a cell reference.

Forgetting the unit "D" for days.

The DATEDIF function calculates the difference between two dates. Here, A1 is the start date and B1 is the end date. The "D" tells it to return the difference in days.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the formula to add 30 days to a date in cell A1.

Google Sheets

=A1 [1] 30

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A*

B+

C-

D/

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using minus instead of plus.

Using multiplication or division which changes the date incorrectly.

Adding 30 to a date adds 30 days. The plus sign + is used to add days to a date in Google Sheets.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the formula to calculate the number of months between two dates in A1 and B1.

Google Sheets

=DATEDIF(A1, B1, [1])

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A"Y"

B"MD"

C"M"

D"D"

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using "Y" which calculates years.

Using "D" which calculates days.

Using "MD" which calculates days ignoring months and years.

To calculate the number of full months between two dates, use "M" as the unit in DATEDIF. Other units calculate years, days, or days ignoring months and years.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a formula that returns TRUE if the date in A1 is before today.

Google Sheets

=A1 [1] [2]()

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A<

B>

CTODAY

DNOW

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using > instead of <.

Using NOW() which includes time and may cause unexpected results.

The formula checks if the date in A1 is less than (<) today's date. TODAY() returns the current date without time.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a formula that calculates the number of weekdays between two dates in A1 and B1.

Google Sheets

=NETWORKDAYS([1], [2], [3])

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AA1

BB1

CC1

DD1

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Swapping start and end dates.

Leaving the holidays argument empty or incorrect.

Using cells that do not contain dates.

NETWORKDAYS counts weekdays between two dates. The first two arguments are the start and end dates (A1 and B1). The third argument is an optional range of holidays (C1) to exclude.