Basic Functions

Basic functions formulae (SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX & MIN)

This page will cover the 5 basic functions found in the auto-sum drop-down menu:

  • SUM

  • AVERAGE

  • COUNT NUMBERS

  • MAX

  • MIN

SUM

  • Summation, the addition of a sequence of numbers  Illustrative image

This Sum function will add the value of anything it finds within the specified range. 

"=SUM(A1:A20)"  - This will give us the Sum of Column A between A1 and A20.

We can also stipulate each number manually as well, for example: =SUM(12,4,6,8) would give us the value 30. The function will total the value of all reference or values within the parenthesis.

AVERAGE

  • Gives you the mean average of values within the specified range.  Illustrative image

This is not to be confused with the Mode or Median average. 

"=AVERAGE(A1:A20)"

Taking the average of multiple ranges of data

In order to take the average of more than one range using a single function, first start the = AVERAGE function. After adding your first range press "," (comma) and then select the second range of values, end the function with a parenthesis (bracket) and press enter. (this is shown at the end of the GIF animation above)

 

MIN/MAX

  • MIN - Will return the smallest number found in a set of values.
  • MAX - Will return the highest number found in a set of values.

Can be very useful if you'd like to divide/multiply a value by the highest/lowest value found in a set of numbers. This means as you incorporate more data the number can update freely.  Illustrative image

 

COUNT and COUNTA

  • COUNT - Counts the number of cells in a range than contain numbers
  • COUNTA - Counts the number of cells in a range that are not empty

Very useful for counting the number of values in a data set, especially when that data set may not start at the top of a spreadsheet.  Illustrative image

 

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