Essential Excel Functions

Excel functions are the secret sauce that turns a simple spreadsheet into a powerful data analysis tool. This chapter will introduce you to some of the most common and versatile functions: SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, and COUNT.

You will also learn how to select cells individually and combine them inside functions like SUM and AVERAGE, allowing you to work with specific values instead of entire ranges. To select multiple individual cells, hold Ctrl on Windows or Command (⌘) on Mac while clicking the cells you want to include.

Key Points

• The SUM function adds up a range of numbers;
• The AVERAGE function finds the average value in a range, ignoring empty cells and text;
• The MAX function identifies the largest number in a range;
• The MIN function finds the smallest number in a range;
• The COUNT function tallies the number of cells that contain numbers in a range;
• AutoSum quickly adds up a range of cells and can also be used for AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX, and MIN.