Practice by topic / Excel / Conditional Logic
IF-style formulas let a spreadsheet make decisions — pass or fail, on time or late, which rate applies — so you don't have to check each row by hand. These 10 exercises build up step by step, starting with handle a failed lookup gracefully, handle a successful lookup, provide a default for a missing match.
3 of 10 free · no sign-up needed · graded on the formula you write
A2 holds a product name to look up in B1:C3, but it might not be found. Write a formula in D2 that returns the price if found, or 'Not Found' if the lookup errors.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Widget | 10 | ||
| 2 | Gizmo | Gadget | 15 | ? |
Wrap the VLOOKUP in IFERROR: =IFERROR(VLOOKUP(A2,B1:C2,2,FALSE),"Not Found")
Right — wrapping VLOOKUP in IFERROR replaces the raw #N/A with a friendly fallback message.
Expected result in D2: Not Found
A2 holds a product name that IS in the table B1:C2. Write a formula in D2 that returns the price using IFERROR wrapping VLOOKUP (should return the real value, not the fallback).
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Widget | 10 | ||
| 2 | Widget | Gadget | 15 | ? |
Same pattern: =IFERROR(VLOOKUP(A2,B1:C2,2,FALSE),"Not Found")
Good — when the lookup succeeds, IFERROR simply passes the real value through unchanged.
Expected result in D2: 10
A2 holds a customer ID to look up in B1:C2, which might not contain it. Write a formula in D2 that returns 0 as a default if the lookup fails.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 50 | ||
| 2 | 999 | 200 | 75 | ? |
Wrap in IFERROR with a numeric fallback: =IFERROR(VLOOKUP(A2,B1:C2,2,FALSE),0)
Right — using 0 as the fallback keeps downstream sum/average formulas from breaking.
Expected result in D2: 0
A2 holds an employee ID to look up in B1:C2. Write a formula in D2 that returns 'Unknown' if the employee isn't found.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E1 | Alex | ||
| 2 | E5 | E2 | Sam | ? |
Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →A2 holds a code to look up via XLOOKUP against B1:B2 / C1:C2. Write a formula in D2 that returns 'No Match' if not found.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | X1 | 5 | ||
| 2 | X9 | X2 | 8 | ? |
Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →A2 holds a SKU to look up in B1:C2. Write a formula in D2 that defaults to 0 if the SKU isn't in the table.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SKU-1 | 25 | ||
| 2 | SKU-1 | SKU-2 | 40 | ? |
Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →A2 holds a part number to look up in B1:C2. Write a formula in D2 that returns 'Check part number' if the lookup fails.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P100 | 12 | ||
| 2 | P404 | P200 | 18 | ? |
Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →A2 holds a student ID to look up in B1:C2. Write a formula in D2 that returns 'No Grade' if not found.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S1 | 88 | ||
| 2 | S3 | S2 | 92 | ? |
Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →A2 holds an order ID that IS present in B1:C2. Write a formula in D2 confirming IFERROR passes through the real matched value.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ORD1 | 250 | ||
| 2 | ORD1 | ORD2 | 180 | ? |
Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →A2 holds a tier code to look up in B1:C2 for a commission rate. Write a formula in D2 that defaults to 0.05 if the tier isn't found.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | T1 | 0.1 | ||
| 2 | T1 | T2 | 0.08 | ? |
Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →