Excel formulas can transform mundane data into insightful information. Here are some of the most essential ones: ### Basic Formulas 1. **SUM**: Adds up a range of cells. ```excel =SUM(A1:A10) ``` 2. **AVERAGE**: Calculates the average of a range of cells. ```excel =AVERAGE(B1:B10) ``` 3. **COUNT**: Counts the number of cells that contain numbers. ```excel =COUNT(C1:C10) ``` ### Logical Formulas 4. **IF**: Performs a logical test and returns one value for a TRUE result, and another for a FALSE result. ```excel =IF(D1>10, "High", "Low") ``` 5. **AND/OR**: Combines multiple logical tests. ```excel =AND(E1>5, E2<10) =OR(F1="Yes", F2="No") ``` ### Lookup Formulas 6. **VLOOKUP**: Looks for a value in the first column of a table and returns a value in the same row from a specified column. ```excel =VLOOKUP(G1, H1:I10, 2, FALSE) ``` 7. **HLOOKUP**: Similar to VLOOKUP, but searches for a value in the first row and returns a value in the same column from a specified row. ```excel =HLOOKUP(G1, H1:J10, 2, FALSE) ``` ### Text Formulas 8. **CONCATENATE**: Joins several text items into one. ```excel =CONCATENATE("Hello", " ", "World") ``` 9. **LEFT/RIGHT/MID**: Extracts parts of a text string. ```excel =LEFT(A1, 5) =RIGHT(A1, 3) =MID(A1, 2, 4) ``` ### Financial Formulas 10. **PMT**: Calculates the payment for a loan based on constant payments and a constant interest rate. ```excel =PMT(rate, nper, pv) ``` These formulas are fundamental building blocks for navigating and analyzing data in Excel. Which one would you like to explore in more detail?