Excel Formulas

Here are some basic instructions on using formulas in Excel:

First, all formulas start with an equals sign, like so:

=A2+B2

There are several types of calculations you can do with formulas:

• Addition: =A2+B2
• Subtraction: =A2-B2
• Division: =A2/B2
• Multiplication: =A2*B2

You can have multiple calculations in a single formula, like so:

=(A2-B2)/A2

That, by the way, is the general syntax for calculating percentage change: (new-old)/old.

And you can use formulas that contain some of Excel’s magic words. You don’t need to worry about upper vs. lower case.

• Average: =average(A2:A15)
• Sum: =SUM(A2:A50)
• Median: =median(A2:A15)

Finally, Excel has a number of other built-in functions you can use.