Cross-column conditional rules in Google Sheets - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the formula to check if the value in column A is greater than 10.

Google Sheets

=IF(A2 [1] 10, "Yes", "No")

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

A<=

B<

C=

D>

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '<' instead of '>' will check if the value is less than 10.

Using '=' will check if the value equals 10, not greater.

The formula checks if the value in cell A2 is greater than 10. The correct operator is >.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the formula to check if the value in column B is equal to the value in column C.

Google Sheets

=IF(B2 [1] C2, "Match", "No Match")

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

A<>

B=

C>

D<

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '<>' checks for inequality, which is the opposite.

Using '>' or '<' checks for greater or less, not equality.

The formula compares if B2 equals C2. The correct operator is =.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the formula to check if the value in column D is less than or equal to 100.

Google Sheets

=IF(D2 [1] 100, "OK", "Check")

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

A<=

B>=

C<

D==

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '==' causes a syntax error in Google Sheets.

Using '<' only checks for less than, not equal.

The correct operator for 'less than or equal to' is <=. The operator '==' is not valid in Google Sheets formulas.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a formula that checks if the value in column E is between 50 and 100 (inclusive).

Google Sheets

=IF(AND(E2 [1] 50, E2 [2] 100), "Valid", "Invalid")

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

A>=

B<

C<=

D>

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '<' instead of '<=' excludes 100 from the valid range.

Using '>' instead of '>=' excludes 50 from the valid range.

The formula checks if E2 is greater than or equal to 50 and less than or equal to 100. So the first operator is >= and the second is <=.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a formula that returns "Pass" if the value in column F is greater than 70 and the value in column G is less than 50, otherwise "Fail".

Google Sheets

=IF(AND(F2 [1] 70, G2 [2] 50), "[3]", "Fail")

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

A>

B<

CPass

D>=

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '>=' instead of '>' changes the condition slightly.

Returning 'Fail' in the true case instead of 'Pass'.

The formula checks if F2 is greater than 70 and G2 is less than 50. If both are true, it returns "Pass". So the first operator is >, the second is <, and the text to return is Pass.

Practice

1. In Google Sheets, you want to check if the value in column A is greater than the value in column B for the same row. Which formula correctly returns TRUE or FALSE for this condition in row 2?

easy

A. =A2>B2

B. =IF(A2, B2)

C. =A2+B2

D. =IF(A2<B2, TRUE, FALSE)

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the comparison needed

   The question asks to check if the value in column A is greater than column B in the same row, which is a simple comparison.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct formula syntax

   The formula =A2>B2 directly compares the two cells and returns TRUE or FALSE accordingly.

3. Final Answer:

   =A2>B2 -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Simple comparison formula =A2>B2 [OK]

Hint: Use direct comparison like =A2>B2 for cross-column checks [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using IF without condition like IF(A2, B2)
• Adding values instead of comparing
• Using wrong comparison operators

2. Which of the following formulas correctly applies a conditional rule to return "Yes" if the value in column C is equal to the value in column D, otherwise "No", for row 3?

easy

A. =IF(C3=D3, "Yes", "No")

B. =IF(C3==D3, "Yes", "No")

C. =IF(C3=D3, Yes, No)

D. =IF(C3<>D3, "Yes", "No")

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the equality check syntax in Google Sheets

   Google Sheets uses a single equals sign = for comparison inside IF, not double equals.

2. Step 2: Check the correct use of text strings in IF

   Text values must be in quotes, so "Yes" and "No" are correct.

3. Final Answer:

   =IF(C3=D3, "Yes", "No") -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use single = and quotes for text in IF [OK]

Hint: Use single = for comparison and quote text in IF [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using double == which causes error
• Not quoting text strings
• Using <> instead of = for equality

3. Given the formula =IF(AND(A2>10, B2<5), "Pass", "Fail") in cell C2, what will be the result if A2=12 and B2=3?

medium

A. TRUE

B. "Fail"

C. "Pass"

D. FALSE

Solution

1. Step 1: Evaluate the AND condition with given values

   A2>10 is TRUE because 12>10, and B2<5 is TRUE because 3<5. AND(TRUE, TRUE) returns TRUE.

2. Step 2: Apply IF based on AND result

   Since AND is TRUE, IF returns "Pass" as specified.

3. Final Answer:

   "Pass" -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   AND(TRUE, TRUE) = TRUE, so IF returns "Pass" [OK]

Hint: Check each condition inside AND before IF [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing AND logic with OR
• Ignoring comparison operators
• Expecting TRUE/FALSE instead of text output

4. You wrote this formula in cell D2: =IF(A2>B2, "Higher", "Lower"). But it always shows "Lower" even when A2 is greater than B2. What is the likely problem?

medium

A. The formula uses wrong comparison operator

B. The IF function syntax is incorrect

C. The formula needs to be entered as an array formula

D. Cells A2 or B2 contain text, not numbers

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand why comparison might fail

   If A2 or B2 contain text (like numbers stored as text), the comparison A2>B2 may not work as expected.

2. Step 2: Check formula syntax and usage

   The formula syntax is correct and does not require array formula. The issue is likely data type mismatch.

3. Final Answer:

   Cells A2 or B2 contain text, not numbers -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Text in number cells breaks numeric comparisons [OK]

Hint: Check cell data types if comparisons fail [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming syntax error without checking data
• Trying array formula unnecessarily
• Using wrong operators like ==

5. You want to create a formula in column E that labels each row as "OK" if the value in column A is greater than column B and the value in column C is not empty. Otherwise, it should show "Check". Which formula correctly does this for row 2?

hard

A. =IF(A2>B2, IF(C2="", "OK", "Check"), "Check")

B. =IF(AND(A2>B2, C2<>""), "OK", "Check")

C. =IF(AND(A2>B2, NOT(ISBLANK(C2))), "OK", "Check")

D. =IF(OR(A2>B2, C2<>""), "OK", "Check")

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the conditions to combine

   The label "OK" requires both: A2>B2 and C2 not empty. This means both conditions must be true, so AND is needed.

2. Step 2: Check formula options for correct logic

   =IF(AND(A2>B2, C2<>""), "OK", "Check") uses AND with A2>B2 and C2<>"" which means C2 is not empty. This matches the requirement exactly.

3. Final Answer:

   =IF(AND(A2>B2, C2<>""), "OK", "Check") -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Use AND for all conditions, check non-empty with <>"" [OK]

Hint: Use AND and <>"" to check multiple conditions and non-empty cells [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using OR instead of AND
• Using ISBLANK incorrectly
• Nesting IF unnecessarily