Basic SUM Function
A total is the first thing anyone asks a spreadsheet for.
Task:
The weekly sales sheet lands on your desk with the total row still empty. Put the total of all four products in B6.
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 SUM
0/4The same formula in the other shapes it takes at work.
- Basic SUM Function
A total is the first thing anyone asks a spreadsheet for.
CoreBeginner - SUM over two separate ranges
Add two blocks of figures without dragging the subtotal between them into the total.
Beginner - A running total with SUM
One formula, filled down, that shows the balance after every line.
Intermediate - SUM across a row and over a block
Totals run sideways as often as they run down.
Beginner
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 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Product | Sales |
| 2 | Cordless drill | 1240 |
| 3 | Extension lead | 385 |
| 4 | Safety goggles | 156 |
| 5 | Work gloves | 227 |
| 6 | Total |
Functions used here
What this exercise teachesMay contain the answer
Typing =B2+B3+B4+B5 gives the same answer today and breaks the moment a fifth product is added. SUM takes a range, so the formula keeps meaning "everything in this column" rather than "these four cells I happened to pick".