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Excel 2007_ Creating Complex Formulas

The document provides an overview of creating complex formulas in Excel 2007, emphasizing the importance of understanding the order of operations and the use of absolute and relative references. It includes definitions, examples, and step-by-step instructions for constructing formulas. Additionally, it features a challenge for learners to apply their knowledge by creating complex formulas with specified operations.

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2 views

Excel 2007_ Creating Complex Formulas

The document provides an overview of creating complex formulas in Excel 2007, emphasizing the importance of understanding the order of operations and the use of absolute and relative references. It includes definitions, examples, and step-by-step instructions for constructing formulas. Additionally, it features a challenge for learners to apply their knowledge by creating complex formulas with specified operations.

Uploaded by

wba59179
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

TEXTBOOK REFERENCE: Form 3, Unit 1. Pages 28-36.

Senior Secondary Computer Studies, Andrew Nasalangwa.

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Online Learner

All Topics Excel 2007 Creating Complex Formulas

Excel 2007
Creating Complex Formulas

Page 1
Introduction
Excel is a spreadsheet application and is intended to be used to calculate and analyze
numerical information such as household budgets, company finances, and inventory.
To do this, you need to understand formulas.

In this lesson, we’ll discuss complex formulas that use multiple mathematical
operators, as well as those that use absolute and relative references.

Page 2

Complex formulas
Watch the video! (12:26 min)

Download the example to work along with the video.

Complex formulas defined


Simple formulas have one mathematical operation. Complex formulas involve more than one mathematical
operation.

Simple formula: =2+2


Complex formula: =2+2*8

To calculate complex formulas correctly, you must perform certain operations before others. This is defined in the
order of operations.

The order of operations


The order of mathematical operations is important. If you enter a formula that contains several operations, Excel
knows to work those operations in a specific order. The order of operations is:

1. Operations enclosed in parenthesis


2. Exponential calculations (to the power of)
3. Multiplication and division, whichever comes first
4. Addition and subtraction, whichever comes first

A mnemonic that can help you remember this is Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (P.E.M.D.A.S).

Example 1
Using this order, let's see how the formula 20/(8-4)*8-2 is calculated in the following breakdown:

Example 2

3+3*2=?

Is the answer 12 or 9? Well, if you calculated in the order in which the numbers appear, 3+3*2, you'd get the wrong
answer: 12. You must follow the order of operations to get the correct answer.

To calculate the correct answer:


1. Calculate 3*2 first because multiplication comes before addition in the order of operations. The answer is
6.
2. Add the answer obtained in step 1, which is 6, to the number 3 that opened the equation. In other words,
add 3 + 6.
3. The answer is 9.

Page 3

Complex formulas
Before moving on, let's explore some more formulas to make sure you understand the order of operations by which
Excel calculates the answer.

4*2/4 Multiply 4*2 before


performing the division
operation because the
multiplication sign comes before
the division sign. The answer is
2.

4/2*4 Divide 4 by 2 before


performing the multiplication
operation because the division
sign comes before the
multiplication sign. The answer
is 8.

4/(2*4) Perform the operation in


parentheses (2*4) first, and
divide 4 by this result. The
answer is 0.5.
4-2*4 Multiply 2*4 before performing
the subtraction operation
because the multiplication sign
is of a higher order than the
subtraction sign. The answer is
-4.

Page 4

Creating complex formulas


Excel automatically follows a standard order of operations in a complex formula. If you want a certain portion of
the formula to be calculated first, put it in parentheses.

Example of how to write a complex formula:


Click the cell where you want the formula result to appear. In this example, H6.
Type the equals sign (=) to let Excel know a formula is being defined.
Type an open parenthesis, or (.
Click on the first cell to be included in the formula (G6, for example).
Type the addition sign (+) to let Excel know that an add operation is to be performed.
Click on the second cell in the formula (G7, for example).
Type a closed parentheses ).

Type the next mathematical operator, or the division symbol (/), to let Excel know a division operation is to
be performed.
Type an open parenthesis, or (.
Click on the third cell to be included in the formula (D6, for example).
Type the addition sign (+) to let Excel know that an add operation is to be performed.
Click on the fourth cell to be included in formula (D7, for example).
Type a closed parentheses ).

Important: Press Enter, or click the Enter button on the Formula bar. This step ends the formula.

To show fewer decimal places, you can click the Decrease Decimal place command on the Home tab.
Excel will not always tell you if your formula contains an error, so it's up to you to check all of your
formulas. To learn how to do this, you can read the Double-Check Your Formulas lesson from our
Excel Formulas tutorial.

Page 5

What is an absolute reference?


In earlier lessons, we saw how cell references in formulas automatically adjust to new locations when the
formula is pasted into different cells. This is called a relative reference.

Sometimes when you copy and paste a formula, you don't want one or more cell references to change. An absolute
reference solves this problem. Absolute cell references in a formula always refer to the same cell or cell range
in a formula. If a formula is copied to a different location, the absolute reference remains the same.

An absolute reference is designated in the formula by the addition of a dollar sign ($). It can precede the column
reference or the row reference, or both. Examples of absolute referencing include:

To create an absolute reference:


Select the cell where you wish to write the formula (in this example, H2).
Type the equals sign (=) to let Excel know a formula is being defined.
Click on the first cell to be included in the formula (F2, for example).
Enter a mathematical operator (use the multiplication symbol for this example).
Click on the second cell in the formula (C2, for example).
Add a $ sign before the C and a $ sign before the 2 to create an absolute reference.
Copy the formula into H3. The new formula should read =F3*$C$2. The F2 reference changed to F3 because it
is a relative reference, but C2 remained constant because you created an absolute reference by inserting the
dollar signs.

When writing a formula, you can press the F4 key on your keyboard to switch between relative and
absolute cell references. This is an easy way to quickly insert an absolute reference.

Page 6

Challenge!
Use the Inventory or any Excel workbook you choose to complete this challenge.

Create at least one complex formula that uses the addition and division operations.
Create at least one complex formula that uses parentheses and a multiplication operation.
Create a formula that uses an absolute reference.

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