Guided Notes

Simple & Complex Formulas

Operators, building and editing formulas, order of operations, and reading formula errors.

Building a simple formula

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Every formula starts with =, followed by values, cell references, and operators. Excel's math operators are + (add), - (subtract), * (multiply), / (divide), and ^ (exponent).

Prefer cell references over typed numbers: =B2+B3 updates automatically when B2 or B3 changes, while =120+45 never will.

Point-and-click is the fastest way to build one: type =, click the first cell, type an operator, click the next cell, and press Enter. The result shows in the cell; the formula shows in the Formula Bar.

OperatorMeaningExampleResult (B2=10, B3=4)
+Add=B2+B314
-Subtract=B2-B36
*Multiply=B2*B340
/Divide=B2/B32.5
^Exponent=B2^2100