Practice by topic / Excel / Fundamentals
Every Excel formula is built from the same basics: cell references, operators and the order Excel calculates them in. Get these right and the rest of Excel stops feeling like guesswork. These 10 exercises build up step by step, starting with force addition before multiplication, force subtraction before division, let multiplication happen naturally.
3 of 10 free · no sign-up needed · graded on the formula you write
A1 holds a base price, A2 holds an added fee, B1 holds a quantity. Write a formula in C1 that adds A1 and A2 first, then multiplies by B1.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 3 | ? |
| 2 | 2 |
Wrap the addition in parentheses so it happens before the multiplication: =(A1+A2)*B1
Right — without parentheses, Excel would multiply A2 by B1 first (standard order of operations), which isn't what you want here.
Expected result in C1: 36
A1 holds gross revenue, A2 holds returns, B1 holds number of units. Write a formula in C1 that subtracts A2 from A1 first, then divides by B1.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1000 | 9 | ? |
| 2 | 100 |
Wrap the subtraction in parentheses: =(A1-A2)/B1
Good — parentheses force the subtraction to resolve before the division, avoiding an order-of-operations mistake.
Expected result in C1: 100
A1 holds a base amount, A2 holds an addition, B1 and C1 hold two factors to multiply together. Write a formula in D1 that adds A2 to the product of B1 and C1, relying on natural order of operations (no parentheses needed).
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | ? |
| 2 | 10 |
Multiplication runs before addition automatically: =A2+B1*C1
Right — multiplication naturally happens before addition, so no parentheses are needed here.
Expected result in D1: 16
A1 holds a price, B1 holds a discount rate, C1 holds a tax rate (both decimals). Write a formula in D1 that applies the discount, then adds tax on the discounted price.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 0.1 | 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 →A1, A2, A3 hold three values. Write a formula in A4 that correctly averages them using parentheses (not the AVERAGE function).
| A | |
|---|---|
| 1 | 4 |
| 2 | 8 |
| 3 | 6 |
| 4 | ? |
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 →A1 and A2 hold two prices, B1 holds a quantity. Write a formula in C1 that finds the price difference first, then multiplies by quantity.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 4 | ? |
| 2 | 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 →A1 holds a price, B1 holds a percentage fee (decimal), C1 holds a flat fee. Write a formula in D1 that computes price times percentage, then adds the flat fee — relying on natural order of operations.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 | 0.1 | 3 | ? |
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 →A1 and A2 hold two values. Write a formula in A3 that adds them together and then squares the result.
| A | |
|---|---|
| 1 | 3 |
| 2 | 4 |
| 3 | ? |
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 →A1 and B1 each hold a rate, A2 and B2 each hold a weight. Write a formula in C1 for a weighted average: (A1*A2 + B1*B2) divided by (A2+B2).
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.05 | 0.08 | ? |
| 2 | 100 | 50 |
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 →A1 holds a target, A2 holds actual. Write a formula in A3 that computes the percentage shortfall: (target minus actual) divided by target.
| A | |
|---|---|
| 1 | 200 |
| 2 | 150 |
| 3 | ? |
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 →