Using Formulas in Excel

This is where the power of excel actually starts to show. Sure, you can make lovely looking static spreadsheets that provide little more benefit than a word processing program or... That's right OR. You can use formulas to make your spreadsheet make calculations for you and save you a lot of time. We will use the simplest and most common formulas first such as addition, subtraction, division and multiplication.

Using formulas in Excel to help with simple calculations like addition, subtraction, division and multiplication.

How to Add Cells in Excel:
Image Tutorial

  1. Open Microsoft Excel.(How do I open microsoft excel?)
  2. Click on the cell where you would like to add the formula.
  3. Press "=" on the keyboard.
  4. Click on the first cell you would like to add.
  5. Press "+" on the keyboard.
  6. Click on the second cell you would like to add.
  7. Click on the green checkmark beside the formula bar.
*You can add more than two cells together using the same process but repeating from number 5.

How to Subtract Cells in Excel:
Image Tutorial
  1. Open Microsoft Excel.(How do I open microsoft excel?)
  2. Click on the cell where you would like to add the formula.
  3. Press "=" on the keyboard.
  4. Click on the first cell (with the number you would like to subtract from).
  5. Press "-" on the keyboard.
  6. Click on the second cell (the cell with the value you would like to subtract).
  7. Click on the green checkmark beside the formula bar.
*You can subtract more than two cells using the same process but repeating from number 5.

How to Multiply Cells in Excel:
Image Tutorial
  1. Open Microsoft Excel.(How do I open microsoft excel?)
  2. Click on the cell where you would like to add the formula.
  3. Press "=" on the keyboard.
  4. Click on the first cell you would like to multiply.
  5. Press "*" on the keyboard (shift+8).
  6. Click on the second cell you would like to multiply.
  7. Click on the green checkmark beside the formula bar.
*You can multiply more than two cells together using the same process but repeating from number 5.

How to Divide Cells in Excel:
Image Tutorial | Video Tutorial (coming soon)
  1. Open Microsoft Excel.(How do I open microsoft excel?)
  2. Click on the cell where you would like to add the formula.
  3. Press "=" on the keyboard.
  4. Click on the first cell (the cell with the value you would like to divide).
  5. Press "/" on the keyboard.
  6. Click on the second cell (the cell you would like to divide by).
  7. Click on the green checkmark beside the formula bar.
*You can divide by more than one cells using the same process but repeating from number 5.

You can combine these operations so that a formula can add, subtract, multiply and divide different cells all within the same formula. Just remember that excel follows the standard order of operations - multiplication and division are done first then additions and subtractions in the order in which they appear. If you need a math refresher course, please check out these examples.

If you had any problems completing this module or think some details need more explanation, please let us know. We also welcome any other feedback.
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