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Writing Formulas Using Operators
Writing Formulas Using Operators
Operators are what connects the elements of a formula. Some familiar operators are: addition (+), subtraction (-), multiplication (*), and division (/). There is an order of operations when you are evaluating a formula. Formulas are evaluated from left to right, with expressions enclosed in parentheses evaluated first, then exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction.
Google Sheets has many more operators, but we will work with the basic operators for now.
Example: If you have the following formula within a cell: =A8/(A9+A4)
The first operation would be the sum of A9 and A4 and then A8 would be divided by that sum.
Do the following:
➤ Open a new Spreadsheet and rename it as "Grades"
➤ Starting in cell A1, enter the following information:
Grades, 76, 89, 76, 100, 53, 89, 21, 65, 98
You will enter a formula that calculates the average of these nine grades.
➤ Select cell A11 and type Total
It would be best if the total sum of the grades was beneath the last grade. You need to insert a column between column A and column B so you don't have to retype all the numbers.
Inserting a Column
Inserting a Column
Do the following:
➤ Right click on the column A heading and choose Insert 1 column left.
This will insert a new column; column A should be blank now.
➤ Select cell B1; Cut and Paste the "Grades" text into cell A1.
➤ Select cell B11; Cut and Paste the "Total" text into cell A11.
Now let's enter the formula for the total sum of the grades.
➤ Select cell B11 and enter the following formula:
=B2+B3+B4+B5+B6+B7+B8+B9+B10
Remember to click the Enter/Return key to enter the formula.
➤ Select cell A12 and type Average
➤ Select cell B12 and enter the following formula =B11/9
Annotating (Commenting) Formulas
Annotating (Commenting) Formulas
Spreadsheets allows you to add comments to explain the purpose of inserted text or formulas. The comments are displayed in the Comment window which can be viewed by resting your cursor over the cell that contains a comment.
Do the following:
➤ Select cell B12.
➤ Right click and select Insert Comment.
➤ Within the Comment box, type Average of nine grades then click the comment button.
Observe that there is an orange note indicator in the upper- right corner of the cell. Anytime you move your cursor over the orange note indicator, your comment will appear.
Google Sheets adds the user's name and date in each comment.
Now that you know how to compute the average using operators, it's time to learn how to write a formula using functions.
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