Probably the most popular function in any spreadsheet is the SUM function.

The
Sum function takes all of the values in each of the specified cells and totals their
values. The syntax is:

=SUM(first value, second value, etc)

In the first and second spots you can enter any of the following (constant, cell,
range of cells).

Blank cells will return a value of zero to be added to the total.

Text cells can not be added to a number and will produce an error.

A
Let's use the table here for the discussion that follows:
We will look at several different specific examples that show
how the typical function can be used! Notice that in A4 there
is a TEXT entry. This has NO numeric value and can not be
included in a total.

25

50

75

test

5
Example

Cells to ADD

Answer

=sum(A1:A3)

A1, A2, A3

150

=sum(A1:A3,
100)

A1, A2, A3 and 100

250

=sum(A1+A4)

A1, A4

#VALUE!

=sum(A1:A2, A5) A1, A2, A5

75

There are many functions built into many spreadsheets. One of the first ones that
we are going to discuss is the Average function. The average function finds the
average of the specified data. (Simplifies adding all of the indicated cells together
and dividing by the total number of cells.) The syntax is as follows.

=Average (first value, second value, etc.)

Text fields and blank entries are not included in the calculations of the Average
Function.
A
Let's use the table here for the discussion that follows:
We will look at several different specific examples that show
how the average function can be used!

25

50

75

100

5
Example

Cells to average

Answer

=average (A1:A4) A1, A2, A3, A4

62.5

=average (A1:A4,
A1, A2, A3, A4 and 300
300)

110

=average (A1:A5) A1, A2, A3, A4, A5

62.5

=average (A1:A2,
A1, A2, A4
A4)

58.33

The next function we will discuss is Max (which stand for Maximum). This will
return the largest (max) value in the selected range of cells.

Blank entries are not included in the calculations of the Max Function.
Text entries are not included in the calculations of the Max Function.

A
Let's use the table here for the discussion that follows.
We will look at several different specific examples that show
how the Max functions can be used!

10

20

30

test

5
Example of Max

Cells to look at

Ans. Max

=max (A1:A4)

A1, A2, A3, A4

30

=max (A1:A4,
100)

A1, A2, A3, A4 and 100

100

=max (A1, A3)

A1, A3

30

=max (A1, A5)

A1, A5

10

The next function we will discuss is Min (which stands for minimum). This will
return the smallest (Min) value in the selected range of cells.

Blank entries are not included in the calculations of the Min Function.
Text entries are not included in the calculations of the Min Function.

Let's use the table here for the discussion that follows.
We will look at several different specific examples that show
how the min functions can be used!

A
1

10

20

30

test

5
Example of min

Cells to look at

Ans. min

=min (A1:A4)

A1, A2, A3, A4

10

=min (A2:A3,
100)

A2, A3 and 100

20

=min (A1, A3)

A1, A3

10

=min (A1, A5)

A1, A5 (displays the

smallestnumber)

10

The next function we will discuss is Count. This will return the number of entries
(actually counts each cell that contains number data) in the selected range of cells.

Blank entries are not counted.

Text entries are NOT counted.

A
Let's use the table here for the discussion that follows.
We will look at several different specific examples that show
how the Count functions can be used!

10

20

30

test

5
Example of Count Cells to look at

Answer

=Count (A1:A3)

A1, A2, A3

=Count (A1:A3,
100)

A1, A2, A3 and 100

=Count (A1, A3)

A1, A3

=Count (A1, A4)

A1, A4

=Count (A1, A5)

A1, A5

The next function we will discuss is CountA. This will return the number of entries
(actually counts each cell that contains number data OR text data) in the selected
range of cells.

Blank entries are not Counted.

Text entries ARE Counted.

A
Let's use the table here for the discussion that follows.
We will look at several different specific examples that show
how the CountA functions can be used!

10

20

30

test

5
Example
of CountA

Cells to look at

Answer

=CountA (A1:A3) A1, A2, A3

=CountA (A1:A3,
A1, A2, A3 and 100
100)

=CountA (A1,
A3)

A1, A3

=CountA (A1,
A4)

A1, A4

=CountA (A1,
A5)

A1, A5

The next function we will discuss is IF. The IF function will check the logical
condition of a statement and return one value if true and a different value if false.
The syntax is

=IF (condition, value-if-true, value-if-false)

value returned may be either a number or text

if value returned is text, it must be in quotes

A
1
Price
Let's use the table here for the
2
$.95
discussion that follows. We
will look at several different
3
$1.37
specific examples that show
comparing
4
how the IF functions can be
#
used!
5
14000
6
Example of IF
typed into column B

8453

Compares

B
Over a dollar?
No
Yes
returning #
0.08
0.05

Answer

=IF (A2>1,"Yes","No")

is ( .95 > 1)

No

=IF (A3>1, "Yes", "No")

is (1.37 > 1)

Yes

=IF (A5>10000, .08, .05) is (14000 > 10000)

.08

=IF (A6>10000, .08, .05) is (8453 > 10000)

.05

The PMT function returns the periodic (in this case monthly) payment for an
annuity (in this case a loan). This is the PMT function that was used for the car
purchase in the first example. There are a few things that we must know in order
for this function to work. To calculate the loan we must know a combination of the
following

(rate) interest rate per period

(NPER) number of payments until repaid
(PV) present value of the loan (amount we are borrowing)
(FV) future value of the money (for saving or investing)
(type) enter 0 or 1 to indicate when payments are due.
=PMT(rate, NPER, PV, FV, type)
equation goes into c7 =PMT(C4/12,C5,-C3)
C4 is the yearly interest and since it's compounded monthly
we divide by 12
C5 is the number of months (# of payments)
-C3 is the amount of money we have (borrow - negative)

Note that the rate is per period. If we have an annual interest rate of 9.6% and we
are calculating monthly payments, we must divide the annual interest rate by 12 to
calculate the monthly interest rate.
Sometimes it is necessary to keep a certain position that is not relative to the new
cell location. This is possible by inserting a $ before the Column letter or a $ before
the Row number (or both). This is called Absolute Positioning.
A B

1 5 3 =$A$1+$B$1 If we were to fill down with this formula we would have the exact
same formula in all of the cells C1, C2, C3, and C4. The dollar
2 8 2 =$A$1+$B$1
signs Lock the cell location to a FIXED position. When it is
3 4 6 =$A$1+$B$1 copied and pasted it remains EXACTLY the same (no relative).
4 3 8 =$A$1+$B$1

Spreadsheets can be pretty dry, so we need some tools to dress them up a little. We
can use most of the tricks in our word processor to do the formatting of text. We
can use : bold face, italics, underline, change the color, align (left, right, center),
font size, font, etc.
We need to select the cell (or group of cells) that we wish to change the formatting
and then go from the FORMAT menu -- down to CELLS -- click on FONT. Here is
a picture of what you will see there. Notice that you can choose to change the
alignment as well as several other options.

We often need to format the numbers to display the appropriate number of

decimals, dollar signs, percentage, red (for negative dollars), etc. It is best to keep
numbers describing similar items as uniform as possible.
If we have the number 3.53262624672423, we would probably have to make the
column wider and at the least bore most people. We need to set the number of
decimal places to what is important. If this was a dollar figure that had calculated
tax it should be $3.53.
Here is a screen displaying what you would see if you select a cell (or group of
cells) and from the FORMAT menu -- go down to format -- click on number.

In a spreadsheet the COLUMN is defined as the vertical space that is going up and
down the window. Letters are used to designate each COLUMN'S location.

In the above diagram the COLUMN labeled C is highlighted.

In a spreadsheet the ROW is defined as the horizontal space that is going across the
window. Numbers are used to designate each ROW'S location.

In the above diagram the ROW labeled 4 is highlighted.