SIGN × ABS: round both ways symmetrically
Treat a negative adjustment exactly like a positive one, then put the sign back.
Task:
Stock adjustments are booked in packs of 10, always rounding away from zero: 23 becomes 30 and -23 becomes -30. In C2:C6 give each adjustment rounded that way.
Interactive Spreadsheet
Hints
+5 XPno-hints bonusSolve it on your own to keep the bonus. Each hint gets one step closer to the formula.
Variations of SIGN
0/3The same formula in the other shapes it takes at work.
- SIGN Function
Determine the sign of numbers using the SIGN function.
CoreBeginner - SIGN to label a direction
Up, down or flat — from the sign of a change, not its size.
Intermediate - SIGN × ABS: round both ways symmetrically
Treat a negative adjustment exactly like a positive one, then put the sign back.
Advanced
The data in this exercise
This is the grid you start with. Cell references in the task — B6, C2 — point at the row numbers and column letters below.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SKU | Adjustment | Booked |
| 2 | A-110 | 23 | |
| 3 | A-111 | -23 | |
| 4 | A-112 | 40 | |
| 5 | A-113 | -7 | |
| 6 | A-114 | 0 |
What this exercise teachesMay contain the answer
Rounding a negative number "up" goes towards zero, so -23 would land on -20 and the books would treat losses more kindly than gains. Splitting the number into its size (ABS) and its direction (SIGN), rounding the size, and multiplying back makes the rule symmetrical. A zero stays zero because SIGN(0) is 0.