Protected sheets and ranges in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

A simple score table with names and scores. The range B2:B4 is protected to prevent accidental changes.

Cell	Value
A1	Name
B1	Score
A2	Alice
B2	85
A3	Bob
B3	90
A4	Charlie
B4	78

Formula Trace

SUM(B2:B4)

Step 1: B2:B4 values

Step 2: SUM(85, 90, 78)

Cell Reference Map

    A       B
1 | Name  | Score |
2 | Alice |  85   |
3 | Bob   |  90   |
4 | Charlie| 78   |

Range B2:B4 is protected to prevent edits.

The formula references the protected range B2:B4 which contains the scores.

Result

    A       B
1 | Name  | Score |
2 | Alice |  85   |
3 | Bob   |  90   |
4 | Charlie| 78   |
5 | Total |  253  |

The total score 253 is shown in cell B5, calculated by summing the protected range B2:B4.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the formula SUM(B2:B4) calculate?

A The highest score in B2 to B4

B The average score of B2 to B4

C The total of scores in cells B2 to B4

D The number of scores in B2 to B4

Key Result

SUM(range) adds all numbers in the specified range.