What is a formula?

Abstract

Transcript

What’s a formula?

In Excel, a formula is simply an expression that begins with an equal sign.

A formula can be as simple as 1 + 1 or 2 + 2.

However, what gives Excel so much power is that a formula can reference cells.

Let’s take a look.

All formulas in Excel must begin with an equal sign.

The equal sign tells Excel that this is a formula that needs to be evaluated.

When wetype a formula,and press Enter, the calculation takes place instantly and we see the result.

To fix this problem, just edit and add the equal sign.

If we make changes and press Enter, the new result is displayed.

Let’s enter some formulas that use cell references instead of hard-coded values.

There’s no need to update the formulas.

This, in a nutshell, is the power of Excel, and the power of cell references.