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Unit 2 · Topic 09 · Data Analysis and Representation (Google Sheets)

Formulae (+,-,*,/)

Hook

Anaya typed =12×40 and pressed Enter. Google Sheets refused.

She typed it again, harder, as if the keyboard were being stubborn.

Pixel's fan sighed.

The Story

The stall accounts were nearly done. Column A had the sweets, column B the boxes sold, column C the price of one box. Ladoo, 12 boxes at ₹40. Barfi, 9 boxes at ₹50. Jalebi, 15 boxes at ₹35.

Column D was empty. It needed the money each sweet had earned.

"Twelve times forty," muttered Anaya, and typed =12×40.

Sheets would not take it.

"That × is a maths-book symbol," said Ms. Rao. "It is not on your keyboard, and Sheets does not understand it. Multiply is the star. Divide is the slash. Plus and minus stay the same."

Anaya typed =1240. Out came 480. She grinned and started typing =950 in the next cell.

"Wait, should we?" said Kabir. "What if a price changes? You'd have to hunt for every number you typed."

Ms. Rao nodded. "Point at the cells instead. In D2, type =B2*C2."

Anaya did. 480 again. She dragged the same idea down: =B3C3 gave 450, and =B4C4 gave 525.

Then Kabir tested his own worry. He changed Barfi's price in C3 from 50 to 45. Anaya's cell quietly became 405. The typed =9*50 in the scratch cell below did not move at all. It still said 450, and it was now wrong.

"Told you," said Kabir, entirely without smugness.

They put the price back. Anaya added one more formula for total boxes, =B2+B3+B4, which gave 36, and one to check the price of a Ladoo box, =D2/B2, which gave 40 — exactly what column C said.

Anaya's stall sheet with the formula bar showing equals B2 star C2 while cell D2 is selected, the Total column filled with 480, 450 and 525, and four more formulas beside it. fx =B2*C2 ← the formula bar shows what D2 really holds #ABCD SweetBoxesPrice ₹Total ₹ 1 2Ladoo1240 3Barfi950 4Jalebi1535 480450525 D2 = 12 × 40 = 480 · D3 = 9 × 50 = 450 · D4 = 15 × 35 = 525 Four more formulas =B2*C2→ 480 =B2+B3+B4→ 36 boxes =C3-C2→ 10 =D2/B2→ 40 one box of Ladoo costs ₹40
Cell D2 holds a formula, not a number — the formula bar proves it.

So What Just Happened?

A formula is a sum you ask Sheets to work out. Like a function, it starts with an equals sign. After that you use four operators: plus to add, minus to subtract, the star to multiply and the slash to divide. The maths-book signs × and ÷ do not work here.

You can put plain numbers in a formula, like =950. It is far better to point at cells, like =B3C3. A cell reference means "whatever is in that cell right now". So when the price in C3 changes, the answer changes with it. A typed number knows nothing and stays wrong.

The cell shows you the answer. The formula bar at the top shows what the cell really holds.

A comparison showing that when the Barfi price changes from 50 to 45, the formula using cell references updates from 450 to 405 while the formula with typed numbers stays at 450. Kabir's test: Barfi's price in C3 changes from ₹50 to ₹45 C3 was 50 C3 is now 45 Anaya's cell: =B3*C3 points at the cells 450 becomes 405 ✓ Kabir's cell: =9*50 numbers typed by hand still says 450 ✗ Why it matters A cell reference means "whatever is in there now". Grand total with references: 480 + 405 + 525 = 1410 With the typed cell it would wrongly stay 1455.
A formula that points at cells keeps telling the truth.

Remember This

  • Every formula starts with an equals sign, exactly like a function.
  • Use + to add, - to subtract, * to multiply and / to divide. Never × or ÷.
  • Point at cells: =B2C2 beats =1240.
  • Change a cell the formula points at, and the answer changes by itself.
  • The formula bar shows what a cell really holds; the cell shows the answer.
A cheat card of the four operators plus, minus, star and slash, each with an example formula from the stall sheet and its answer, and a do and don't pair. Operator cheat card — the four signs Sheets understands +-*/ add=B2+B3+B4 → 36 subtract=C3-C2 → 10 multiply=B2*C2 → 480 divide=D2/B2 → 40 DO — start with =, point at cells =B2*C2, not =12*40 Answers update when data changes. DON'T — × or ÷ from the maths book Sheets will not accept =B2×C2. No = sign means no answer at all.
Four signs, four examples, two traps.

Try It Yourself

Make a sheet of five snacks: packets in column B, price in column C.

In D2 type =B2*C2, then fill the rest of column D the same way.

Change one price and watch column D update, then add =D2+D3+D4+D5+D6 for your grand total.

Word Bank

Formula
A sum you type into a cell, starting with =, that Sheets works out.
Operator
A sign that tells Sheets what to do: plus, minus, star or slash.
Cell reference
The address of a cell, like B2, used inside a formula.
Formula bar
The strip at the top that shows the formula inside the chosen cell.
Updates
When an answer changes by itself because the data it points at changed.

Questions

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