Goodwill Community Foundation creating
opportunities for a better life remember
using formulas to calculate math
problems in school like two plus two
equals four or two pizzas times ten
dollars equals twenty dollars you can
use these same formulas to work with
numerical data in your spreadsheets just
like you would use a calculator Excel
uses standard operators for math
equations like a plus sign for addition
a minus sign for subtraction an asterisk
for multiplication a forward slash for
division and a carrot for exponents
you're probably used to seeing equations
like five plus five equals but in excel
the equal sign comes first that's
because the cell itself contains or is
equal to the formula and its value let's
start off with a simple addition formula
we're going to calculate the total
budget for June and July however instead
of entering these numbers in other words
1200 plus 1500 we're going to use cell
references here's how it works first
select the cell where you want the total
to appear then type an equal sign which
is how you always start a formula next
type the addresses of the cells you want
to add in this example D 10 plus D 11
notice how the cells you've entered are
actually highlighted in your worksheet
so you can easily confirm the contents
of your formula when you're ready press
ENTER on your keyboard and Excel will
display the answer now you may be
wondering why we use two cell references
instead of numbers it's because they
give you the ability to change your
original values without having to retype
your formula Excel automatically
recalculates the answer so it's always
up to date for that reason you should
try to use cell references whenever you
can to edit your formula all you have to
do is double click the cell if you make
a mistake or change your mind
you can press escape on your keyboard
and it'll go back to the way it was
let's try another example this time with
multiplication I want to calculate the
total price for plastic silverware so
we'll need to multiply b4 by c4 once
again start by typing an equal sign but
instead of entering the addresses
manually we're going to use something
called the point and click method just
click the cell you want and the address
instantly appears in your formula most
people find this much easier than typing
out the cell addresses by hand when
you're done press ENTER and the answer
appears finally I want to show you a
quick way to add a formula to several
cells at once specifically these 3 cells
instead of retyping the formula above
we're just going to select the first
cell then locate the fill handle in the
bottom right corner click and drag the
handle down and when you let go the
formula appears automatically in all
three cells now we can see the total
cost for each item this is a great
shortcut for duplicating formulas if you
plan to use the same one more than once
formulas really are one of the most
powerful and convenient features in
Excel now that you know how to use them
they can help you calculate all kinds of
useful data
you