Operators are what connects the elements
of a formula. Some familiar operators are: addition (+),
subtraction (-), multiplication (*), and division (/).
There is an order of operations when you
are evaluating a formula. Formulas are evaluated from
left to right, with expressions enclosed in parentheses
evaluated first, then exponents, multiplication, division,
addition, and subtraction. Excel has many more operators,
but we will work with the operators listed above for now.
Here is an example of how the order of operations
works:
If you have the following formula within a cell;
=A8/(A9+A4)
The first operation would be the sum of A9 and A4 and
then A8 would be divided by that sum.
Describing Formulas
Excel allows you to add comments to explain
the purpose of an inserted formula. The comments
are displayed in the Cell Note window which
can be viewed by choosing Note from the
Insert menu. Let's enter a formula using
operators and comment the formula.
Open a new workbook window.
Starting in cell A1 build the following table:
You are going to enter a formula which will
calculate the average of these nine grades.
Select cell A11 and type in the text:Total.
It would be best if the total sum of the grades was
beneath the last grade. You need to insert a column
between column A and column B so you don't have to
retype all the numbers.
Insert a Column
Highlight column A by clicking in the column
heading.
Observe:
Choose Columns from the Insert menu.
Column A should be a blank column now.
Select cell B1 and click in the formula bar.
Highlight the text:Grades and Cut and
Paste the text into cell A1.
Cut and Paste the text:Total
into cell A11.
Now to enter the formula for the total sum of the grades.
Select cell B11 and enter the following formula:
Remeber to click on the Enter button or press
the Return key to enter the formula.