Most Popular Excel Formulas and How to Use Them

1] =SUM

=SUM is a function used to count the sum of one or more numbers, cells, or ranges of cells. This function belongs to the category of Mathematics and Trigonometry, and is one of the most used functions in Excel.

The syntax of the =SUM function is as follows:

=SUM(number1,[number2],...)

Where:

• number1 is a number, cell, or range of cells that must be entered as the first argument.
• [number2],… is an optional additional number, cell, or range of cells, which can be entered up to 255 arguments.

Here is an example of using the =SUM function:

•  =SUM(2,3,4) returns the value 9, which is the sum of the three numbers entered as arguments.
• =SUM(A1,B1,C1,D1) returns the value 100, which is the sum of the values present in cells A1 through D1.
• =SUM(A1:D2) returns the value 350, which is the sum of the values in the cell range A1 through D2.
• =SUM(A1:A3,C1:C3) returns the value 330, which is the sum of the values in the cell range A1 through A3 and C1 through C3.
• =SUM(A1:D3,5) returns the value 815, which is the sum of the values present in the range of cells A1 through D3 and the number 5 entered as additional arguments.

2] =AVERAGE

=AVERAGE is a function used to calculate the arithmetic mean of one or more numbers, cells, or ranges of cells. This function belongs to the category of Statistics, and is one of the most frequently used functions for analyzing data in Excel.

The syntax of the =AVERAGE function is as follows:

=AVERAGE(number1,[number2],...)

Where:

• number1 is a number, cell, or range of cells that must be entered as the first argument.
• [number2],… is an optional additional number, cell, or range of cells, which can be entered up to 255 arguments.

Here is an example of using the =AVERAGE function:

•  =AVERAGE(2,3,4) returns the value 3, which is the arithmetic mean of the three numbers entered as arguments.
• =AVERAGE(A1,B1,C1,D1) returns the value 25, which is the arithmetic mean of the values in cells A1 through D1.
• =AVERAGE(A1:D2) returns a value of 43.75, which is the arithmetic mean of the values in the cell range A1 through D2.
• =AVERAGE(A1:A3,C1:C3) returns the value 55, which is the arithmetic mean of the values in the cell ranges A1 through A3 and C1 through C3.
• =AVERAGE(A1:D3,5) returns the value 67.5, which is the arithmetic mean of the values in the cell range A1 through D3 and the number 5 entered as additional arguments.

3] =MIN

=MIN is a function used to calculate the minimum or smallest value of one or more numbers, cells, or ranges of cells. This function belongs to the category of Statistics, and is one of the useful functions for finding the lowest value in a data set.

The syntax of the =MIN function is as follows:

=MIN(number1,[number2],...)

Where:

• number1 is a number, cell, or range of cells that must be entered as the first argument.
• [number2],… is an optional additional number, cell, or range of cells, which can be entered up to 255 arguments.

Here is an example of using the =MIN function:

•  =MIN(2,3,4) returns the value 2, which is the minimum value of the three numbers entered as arguments.
• =MIN(A1,B1,C1,D1) returns the value 10, which is the minimum of the values in cells A1 through D1.
• =MIN(A1:D2) returns the value 10, which is the minimum value of the values in the cell range A1 through D2.
• =MIN(A1:A3,C1:C3) returns the value 10, which is the minimum value of the values in the cell ranges A1 through A3 and C1 through C3.
• =MIN(A1:D3,5) returns the value 5, which is the minimum value of the values in the cell range A1 through D3 and the number 5 entered as an additional argument.