Most Popular Excel Formulas and How to Use Them

4] =MAX

=MAX is a function used to calculate the maximum or greatest 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 highest value in a data set.

The syntax of the =MAX function is as follows:

=MAX(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 =MAX function:

•  =MAX(2,3,4) returns the value 4, which is the maximum value of the three numbers entered as arguments.
• =MAX(A1,B1,C1,D1) returns the value 40, which is the maximum of the values present in cells A1 through D1.
• =MAX(A1:D2) returns the value 80, which is the maximum value of the values in the cell range A1 through D2.
• =MAX(A1:A3,C1:C3) returns the value 110, which is the maximum value of the values in the range of cells A1 through A3 and C1 through C3.
• =MAX(A1:D3,5) returns the value 120, which is the maximum value of the values present in the cell range A1 through D3 and the number 5 entered as additional arguments.

5] =COUNT

=COUNT is a function used to count the number of cells that contain numbers, either entered directly or generated by other formulas. This function belongs to the category of Statistics, and is one of the useful functions for calculating the frequency or amount of numerical data in a data set.

The syntax of the =COUNT function is as follows:

=COUNT(value1,[value2],...)

Where:

• value1 is a number, cell, or range of cells that must be entered as the first argument.
• [value2],… 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 =COUNT function:

•  =COUNT(2,3,4) returns the value 3, which is the number of cells that contain numbers entered as arguments.
• =COUNT(A1,B1,C1,D1) returns the value 4, which is the number of cells that contain the numbers present in cells A1 through D1.
• =COUNT(A1:D2) returns the value 8, which is the number of cells that contain numbers in the cell range A1 through D2.
• =COUNT(A1:A3,C1:C3) returns the value 6, which is the number of cells that contain numbers in the range of cells A1 through A3 and C1 through C3.
• =COUNT(A1:D3,5) returns the value 13, which is the number of cells containing numbers in the range of cells A1 through D3 and the number 5 entered as additional arguments.

6] =IF

=IF is a function used to test logical conditions and return values based on the result. This function belongs to the Logic category, and is one of the most flexible and useful functions in Excel.

The syntax of the =IF function is as follows:

=IF(logical_test,value_if_true,value_if_false)

Where:

• logical_test is an expression that returns a value of TRUE or FALSE, which usually involves comparison operators, such as =, <, >, <=, >=, or <>.
• value_if_true is the value that will be returned if logical_test is TRUE. This value can be a number, text, date, time, formula, or cell reference.
• value_if_false is the value that will be returned if logical_test is FALSE. This value can be a number, text, date, time, formula, or cell reference.

Here is an example of using the =IF function:

• =IF(2>3,”True”,”False”) returns the text “False”, which is the value returned if condition 2>3 is FALSE.
• =IF(A1>B1,A1,B1) returns the value 20, which is the value returned if condition A1>B1 is TRUE. If the condition is FALSE, then the returned value is B1.
• =IF(A1:D2>50,”Pass”,”Fail”) returns a range of cells that contains the text “Pass”or“Fail”, depending on the result of the comparison between each cell in the range A1:D2 with the number 50. If the cell is greater than 50, then the returned text is “Pass”. If not, then the returned text is “Failed”.
• =IF(A1:A3>C1:C3,”A”,”C”) returns a range of cells that contain the text “A”or“C”, depending on the result of a comparison between each cell in the range A1:A3 and the corresponding cells in the range C1:C3. If a cell in range A1:A3 is larger than a cell in range C1:C3, the returned text is “A”. If not, then the returned text is “C”.
• =IF(A1:D3>100,A1:D3-10,A1:D3+10) returns a range of cells containing values resulting from arithmetic operations that depend on the result of the comparison between each cell in the range A1:D3 with the number 100. If the cell is greater than 100, then the returned value is the cell minus 10. If not, then the returned value is that cell plus 10.