Course outline / Basic formulas
Lesson 17 of 75 · Intermediate · 4 exercises
Combining functions
Put one function inside another to answer bigger questions in one cell.
What you'll practise
- Round an average
- Highest minus lowest
- Decide based on a total
- Round a grand total
Round an average
Functions can go inside other functions. Excel works from the inside out: the inner function gives its answer to the outer one.
=ROUND(AVERAGE(B2:C2), 1) averages first, then rounds the result.
In cell E2, average Ana's two quarters (B2:C2) and round to 1 decimal place.
Highest minus lowest
You can combine functions with ordinary maths too. The range of a set of numbers is the largest minus the smallest.
In cell E2, subtract the smallest value in B2:C4 from the largest.
Decide based on a total
IF can test the result of another function. Here, SUM works out the total and IF decides what to show.
In cell E2, show "Bonus" if Ana's two quarters (B2:C2) add up to more than 25, otherwise "None".
Round a grand total
In cell E2, add up every quarter in B2:C4 and round the total to a whole number.
Try it in a real spreadsheet
Every step checks your answer instantly and tells you exactly what to fix.