SLN: Google Sheets Formulas Explained

Let me start by saying that I am obsessed with Google Sheets. I use it for everything, from tracking my budget to planning my wedding. But what I love most about Sheets is the wide range of formulas that help me analyze data and create reports.

If you're new to Sheets or just want to get better at using formulas, you've come to the right place. In this article, I'll be explaining some of the most useful formulas in Sheets.

1. SUM

The SUM formula is a basic yet essential formula in Sheets. It allows you to add up the values in a range of cells. For example, if you want to add up the values in cells A1 through A10, you would use the formula:

=SUM(A1:A10)

You can also use the SUM formula to add up multiple ranges of cells. For example, if you want to add up the values in cells A1 through A10 and B1 through B10, you would use the formula:

=SUM(A1:A10,B1:B10)

Pro Tip: The SUM formula is great for calculating your monthly expenses or tracking your sales.

2. AVERAGE

The AVERAGE formula calculates the average (mean) of a range of cells. For example, if you want to find the average value of cells A1 through A10, you would use the formula:

=AVERAGE(A1:A10)

You can also use the AVERAGE formula to find the average of multiple ranges of cells. For example, if you want to find the average value of cells A1 through A10 and B1 through B10, you would use the formula:

=AVERAGE(A1:A10,B1:B10)

Pro Tip: The AVERAGE formula is great for finding the average score on a test or calculating the average amount of time spent on a project.

3. CONCATENATE

The CONCATENATE formula is useful when you need to combine text from multiple cells into one cell. For example, if you have a list of names in cells A1 through A10 and you want to combine them into one cell, you would use the formula:

=CONCATENATE(A1,A2,A3,A4,A5,A6,A7,A8,A9,A10)

You can also use the & operator to achieve the same result. For example:

=A1&A2&A3&A4&A5&A6&A7&A8&A9&A10

Pro Tip: The CONCATENATE formula is great for creating mailing labels or combining data from multiple cells.

4. IF

The IF formula is useful when you want to test a condition and return a value based on whether the condition is true or false. For example, if you have a list of grades in cells A1 through A10 and you want to assign each grade a pass or fail, you would use the formula:

=IF(A1>=70,"Pass","Fail")

This formula tests whether the value in cell A1 is greater than or equal to 70. If it is, the formula returns "Pass"; if it isn't, the formula returns "Fail".

Pro Tip: The IF formula is great for grading assignments or determining whether a project is on track.

5. VLOOKUP

The VLOOKUP formula is useful when you want to find a value in a table and return a corresponding value from the same row. For example, if you have a table of employee names and their salaries, and you want to find the salary of a specific employee, you would use the formula:

=VLOOKUP("John Smith",A1:B10,2,FALSE)

This formula searches for "John Smith" in the leftmost column of the table and returns the corresponding value in the second column of the table.

Pro Tip: The VLOOKUP formula is great for looking up information in large datasets or creating a product catalog.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the many formulas available in Google Sheets. Whether you're tracking your budget, analyzing data for a project, or just need to combine some text, these formulas are sure to come in handy. So get out there and start crunching those numbers!