Reading and writing cell values in Google Sheets - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

📊 Formula Result

intermediate

What value will cell B2 show?

Given the following values:

A1 = 10
A2 = 20

Cell B2 contains the formula =A1 + A2.
What is the value displayed in B2?

A 10 20

B A1 + A2

C 30

D Error

💡 Hint

Remember, formulas calculate values, not show the formula text.

The formula adds the values in A1 and A2: 10 + 20 = 30.

❓ Function Choice

intermediate

Which formula correctly reads the value from cell C3?

You want to display the value from cell C3 in cell D3.
Which formula should you enter in D3?

A =C3

B =SUM(C3)

C =READ(C3)

D =GETVALUE(C3)

💡 Hint

To show the exact value of another cell, use a direct reference.

Using =C3 copies the value from C3 directly. SUM(C3) works but is unnecessary here. READ and GETVALUE are not valid functions.

📊 Formula Result

advanced

What is the output of this formula in cell E1?

Assume:
A1 = 5
B1 = 3

Formula in E1:
=IF(A1 > B1, A1 * 2, B1 * 2)

What value will E1 show?

A 6

B 10

C 8

D Error

💡 Hint

Check the condition A1 > B1 and then calculate accordingly.

Since 5 > 3 is true, the formula returns A1 * 2 = 5 * 2 = 10.

🎯 Scenario

advanced

You want to write a formula in cell F2 that always reads the value from cell A1, even if you copy the formula to other cells. Which formula should you use?

You want to copy the formula from F2 to G2 and H2, but always get the value from A1.
Which formula in F2 achieves this?

A =$A$1

B =A1

C =A$1

D =$A1

💡 Hint

Use dollar signs to fix both column and row references.

=$A$1 locks both the column and row, so copying the formula keeps referencing A1.

❓ data_analysis

expert

How many cells contain numeric values after applying this formula in column D?

Given the data:
A1=10, A2="Text", A3=15, A4="", A5=20

Formula in D1:D5:
=ISNUMBER(A1), =ISNUMBER(A2), etc.

How many TRUE values will appear in D1:D5?

A 5

B 2

C 4

D 3

💡 Hint

ISNUMBER returns TRUE only for numeric values.

Cells A1, A3, and A5 contain numbers, so 3 TRUE values appear.