SUM, AVERAGE, MIN and MAX

2 min read Quiz included

A function is a ready-made formula. You give it arguments in brackets, and it returns a result. The everyday ones work on ranges.

Sample data used below:

SUM

Excel formula

=SUM(B2:B6)          → 6615
=SUM(B2:B3, B5)      → 4160   (several ranges and cells)

AutoSum: select the cell below a column of numbers and press Alt + =. Excel writes the SUM for you.

Excel formula

=AVERAGE(B2:B6)      → 1323
=MIN(B2:B6)          → 980
=MAX(B2:B6)          → 1610
=MAX(B2:B6)-MIN(B2:B6)   → 630  (the range of the data)

AVERAGE ignores empty cells and text, but counts zeros, which matters when a 0 means "no data" rather than "nothing sold".

Excel formula

=ROUND(1323.456, 2)  → 1323.46
=ROUND(1323.456, 0)  → 1323
=ROUND(1323.456, -2) → 1300
=ROUNDUP(4.01, 0)    → 5
=ROUNDDOWN(4.99, 0)  → 4

Excel formula

=COUNT(B2:B6)        → 5   (cells containing numbers)
=COUNTA(A1:A6)       → 6   (cells that aren't empty)
=COUNTBLANK(A1:A10)  → 4   (empty cells)

Functions can be nested:

Excel formula

=ROUND(AVERAGE(B2:B6), 0)          → 1323
="Best month: "&MAX(B2:B6)         → Best month: 1610

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