Real-time co-editing in Google Sheets - Cell-by-Cell Formula Trace

Sample Data

This sheet shows names and their scores. Multiple users can edit these cells at the same time, and changes appear instantly for everyone.

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

Formula Trace

=SUM(B2:B4)

Step 1: B2:B4

Step 2: SUM(85, 90, 78)

Cell Reference Map

     A       B
  +-------+-------+
1 | Name  | Score |
  +-------+-------+
2 | Alice |  85   | <-- referenced
  +-------+-------+
3 | Bob   |  90   | <-- referenced
  +-------+-------+
4 | Carol |  78   | <-- referenced
  +-------+-------+

The formula sums the values in cells B2, B3, and B4.

Result

     A       B       C
  +-------+-------+-------+
1 | Name  | Score | Total |
  +-------+-------+-------+
2 | Alice |  85   |       |
  +-------+-------+-------+
3 | Bob   |  90   |       |
  +-------+-------+-------+
4 | Carol |  78   |  253  | <-- Result of =SUM(B2:B4)
  +-------+-------+-------+

The total score 253 is shown in cell C4, calculated by summing scores in B2 to B4.

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

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

A The average of scores in cells B2, B3, and B4

B The total of scores in cells B2, B3, and B4

C The highest score in cells B2, B3, and B4

D The number of scores in cells B2, B3, and B4

Key Result

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