Functions

Aniko Balogh
CEU Computer & Statistics Center
balogha@ceu.edu
TRUE, FALSE, IF function
• The IF function allows you to make logical comparisons between a
value and what you expect.
• IF(Something is True, then do something, otherwise do something
else)
• So an IF statement can have two results. The first result is if your
comparison is True, the second if your comparison is False.
• TRUE and FLASE is automatically calculated by Excel:
• =A1=B1 - if the cells contain the same value  TRUE, - if the cells
contain different value  FALSE
Practice TRUE, FALSE
• Open Practice 4
• Look at the percentage change table
• If the value in the % Change column is bigger than 0, then the
salesperson gets a bonus
• Type the following formula: =L2>0, push Enter, TRUE or False will
appear
• Copy the formula down the column
Practice IF
• Look at the students scores table
• Pass/Fail
• If the Actual score is bigger than 60, then the student passed
• Click into E2
• Choose the IF function from the function wizard
• Logical test: B2>60
• Value if true = Pass, Value if false = Fail
• Copy the formula down the column
Goal Seek
• You know the result of a calculation, but you don’t know either of the
values
• Simple example:
• you know, that 7 times something is 56, type the calculation with cell
references: =B8*C8, the result will be 7*0=0
• You want to change the result to 56
• Select the cell that contains the formula. In this case, that's D8.
• Click the Data tab, What-If Analysis and choose Goal Seek 
• Set cell: D8, To value: type 56, By changing cell: C8, Enter
• The result will change to 56
Goal Seek
• More complicated example:
• you would like to re-calculate the loan payment example by changing the
length of payments
• You want to change the monthly payment to 70 000 HUF
• First repeat the PMT exercise to get the result
• Select the cell that contains the formula. In this case, that's D4.
• Click the Data tab. In the Data Tools group, click What-If Analysis and choose
Goal Seek 
• Set cell: D4, To value: type -70000 (it must be a negative number, as it is a
payment), By changing cell: B4 (Number of Payments), Enter
• The result will change to 70 000 HUF
VLOOKUP
• VLOOKUP is an Excel function to lookup and retrieve data from a
specific column in table.
• VLOOKUP supports approximate and exact matching, and wildcards (*
?) for partial matches.
• The "V" stands for "vertical".
• Lookup values must appear in the first column of the table, with
lookup columns to the right.
VLOOKUP
• Open Practice 4.xlsx
• Search for the grade of students based on their scores:
• value - The value to look for in the first column of a table. = score
• table - The table from which to retrieve a value. = table of grades PUSH F4 to
fix the range
• col_index - The column in the table from which to retrieve a value. = 2
• range_lookup - [optional] TRUE = approximate match (default). FALSE = exact
match.
VLOOKUP
• Who lost her/his ID card?
• Lookup the badge number, ID-4537, in the first column and return the
matching value in the same row of the fourth column (family name)
• Click into I16
• value - The value to look for in the first column of a table. = I20
• table - The table from which to retrieve a value. = I16:L21 (PUSH F4 to fix the
range)
• col_index - The column in the table from which to retrieve a value. = 4
• range_lookup - [optional] TRUE = approximate match (default). FALSE = exact
match.
• What’s her/his phone number? – col_index to 2
Resources
• https://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-use-excels-goal-seek-a
nalysis-tool/
• https://www.myexcelonline.com/blog/use-excel-goal-seek-to-find-the
-formula-result-you-want/
• https://www.excelcampus.com/functions/how-to-write-if-function/
• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSxX7Vgyu9iThxPE1jSDFdw
• https://
support.office.com/en-us/article/vlookup-function-0bbc8083-26fe-49
63-8ab8-93a18ad188a1
• https://exceljet.net/excel-functions/excel-vlookup-function