Adding formulas and functions in Excel is a straightforward process. Here's a step-by-step procedure:

1. Select a Cell: click on the cell where you want the formula's result to appear. This is typically the cell where you want to display the calculated value;
2. Start with an Equal Sign (=): always begin a formula with an equal sign =. This signals to Excel that you're entering a calculation;
3. Enter the Formula: after the equal sign =, type your formula using cell references, mathematical operators, and/or values. For example, to add the values in cells A1 to A2, you'd type =SUM(A1:A2);
4. Press Enter: once you've entered the formula, press the Enter key. Excel will calculate the result and display it in the selected cell. The formula itself will be visible in the formula bar at the top of the Excel window.

In this example, the formula is the complete equation =SUM(A1:A2), while SUM is the function used within the formula.

Please, refer to the following video:

That was a very basic example. Here you can find a spreadsheet with some records coming from a completely fictional dataset, there are 43 rows x 2 columns.

What is needed from your side is a simple calculation. I want you to calculate the difference between all values in column A and all values in column B. When you have the answer to that, please refer to the quiz below and looking forward to seeing you in chapter 3!

Note

Beware that there is no diff function in Excel, you may need to use the minus sign in combination with the sum function!