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
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.
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.
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.
