Formula and Functions in MS Excel 2007

In a formula, we refer to a cell using the cell referencing. There are three types of cell referencing in MS
Excel 2007:

1. Relative Referencing
2. Absolute Referencing
3. Mixed Referencing

 Relative Referencing: In Relative referencing, when we copy a formula to different cells, the cell
addresses in the formula change accordingly to the rows and columns where the formula is being
copied.
Example: =B2+C2

 Absolute Referencing: In Absolute referencing, when we copy a formula to different cells, the cell
address in the formula remains the same irrespective of where the formula is being copied.
To make a cell address absolute, add a $ sign before the row and column address of the cell in the
formula.
Example: =B2+C2+$E$2

 Mixed Referencing: In Mixed referencing we can mark either a row or a column (in a cell
address) as Absolute and the other stays relative.
Example: = B$1+$C2
Note: You can also drag the AutoFill Handle to copy the formula in the rest of the cells.

 Functions: Functions are the special pre- written formulas and instructions that ‘accept’ the values
as Arguments and ‘return’ the values in the cells in which they have been typed.
Syntax: = Function name(Arguments)
 Arguments: Arguments can be of the following format:

a. Constants: These values can be used directly in the Function. For example, = SUM(12,45,13)
will return the value 70.
b. Cells or Cell Range: The cell reference or the range of cells can also be specified as the
Arguments. For example, =ABS(-45) or =SUM(C5:C10) or =AVERAGE(A1:A5)

 Entering Functions:
1. All functions begin with an “=” sign.
2. Parentheses ( ) are used to ‘open’ and ‘close’ the function.
3. All Arguments are given inside the parentheses.
4. You can separate the Arguments with a comma, or you can give the cell range.

 Function Categories: There are mainly five types of Functions:

1. Mathematical Functions
2. Statistical Functions
3. Logical Functions
 4. Text Functions
5. Date and Time functions
 Mathematical Functions: These functions are used for calculation purposes, like to find the sum,
product, square root, remainder, etc.
For example:=Sum(num1,num2), =Product(num1,num2), =Mod(num1,num2), =Sqrt(num)

 Statistical Functions: These functions are used for doing statistical analysis like finding averages,
maximum or minimum value, etc.
For example, = Average(num1, num2 ....), =Max(num1,num2….), =Min(num1,num2….)

 Logical Functions: In a Logical function, we can pass a condition in the form of Arguments and it
returns a ‘True’ or ‘False’ value depending upon the satisfaction of the criteria of the condition.
Syntax: =If(Logical Test, True action, False action)
For example: =If(B2>70, “Laptop”,”Camera”)

 Text Functions: These functions are used for the manipulation of the text strings. A text string is
passed as the argument and the function returns the manipulated result.
For example, =Concatenate(“text1”, “text2”), =Len(“text”), =Lower(“text”), =Upper(“text”),
=Left(“text”, number of characters(n)), =Right(text ,number of characters(n)), =Mid(text, start
position, number of characters(n)), =Clean(“text”)

 Date and Time functions: These functions are used to handle the date and time. We can use these
functions to display the date and time in the desired format.
For example, = Today( ), =Now( ), =Date(year,month,day)

 The Insert Function Command:

1. Click on the Formulas tab.
2. Click on the Insert Function button in the Function Library group.
3. Select a function category from the drop-down list.
Select a function from the Select a function list box.
5. The Function Arguments dialog box opens.
a. Enter the arguments in the space provided.
b. Click on the Ok button.
….. The result of the function will get displayed.

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q. Write down the output of the following functions:

1. =mod(12,6) 6. =len(“how are you”)

2. =product(12,3,6) 7. =mid(“I like chatting”,8,4)
3. =max(23,56,43) 8. =now( )
4. =min(34,5,26,1) 9. =IF(A1>0,”Hi”,”Bye”) and value of A1 is -3
5. =sum(16,60,45) 10. =Concatenate(“Maths”,” is my favourite subject”)