What Are the Essential Excel Formulas to Know?

Excel formulas can help you perform complex calculations, automate data analysis, and much more. Here's a list of essential Excel formulas and how to use them:

1. SUM: This formula allows you to add multiple numbers. For example, to sum numbers in cells A1 to A5, you would use =SUM(A1:A5).

2. AVERAGE: This formula calculates the average of selected cells. For example, to get the average of numbers in cells A1 to A5, use =AVERAGE(A1:A5).

3. COUNT: This formula counts the number of cells in a range that contain numbers. For example, =COUNT(A1:A5) would count the number of cells that contain numbers in the range A1 to A5.

4. MIN and MAX: These formulas return the smallest and largest number in a range, respectively. For example, =MIN(A1:A5) returns the smallest number and =MAX(A1:A5) returns the largest number in the range A1 to A5.

5. IF: This formula performs a logical test and returns one value if the test is true, and another if it's false. For example, =IF(A1>10, "Yes", "No") will return "Yes" if the number in cell A1 is greater than 10, and "No" otherwise.

6. VLOOKUP: This formula looks for a value in the left-most column of a table and returns a value in the same row from a specified column. For example, =VLOOKUP("Apple", A1:B5, 2, FALSE) looks for "Apple" in cells A1 to A5 and returns the corresponding value from column B.

7. CONCATENATE / CONCAT: This formula combines two or more text strings into one text string. For example, =CONCATENATE(A1, " ", B1) or =CONCAT(A1, " ", B1) combines the contents of cells A1 and B1 with a space in between.

Remember, formulas can be much more complex and powerful when combined. It's recommended to explore these formulas, practice using them, and learn how they can be used together for more complex tasks.