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Excel 2003

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Creating Simple Formulas

About formulas

In school, you learned formulas to calculate math problems. Microsoft Excel uses these same formulas to perform calculations in a spreadsheet.

A formula can be a combination of values (numbers or cell references) and math operators (+, -, /, *, =) into an algebraic expression. Excel requires every formula to begin with an equals sign (=).

The following table illustrates the mathematical operators learned in school and those represented in Excel 2003.

School Excel 2003
Addition + +
Subtraction - -
Multiplication X *
Division / /
Equals = =

The result of a formula—the answer to 2+3, for example—displays in the cell on the Excel worksheet. The formula is visible only in the Formula bar. A formula's result will change as different numbers are entered into the cells included in the formula's definition.

The Formula Bar

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