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Video: Complex Formulas
Watch the video (5:10). Need help?
A simple formula is a mathematical expression with one operator, such as 7+9. A complex formula has more than one mathematical operator
1 of 3
Video: Complex Formulas
Watch the video (5:10). Need help?
A simple formula is a mathematical expression with one operator, such as 7+9. A complex formula has more than one mathematical operator, such as 5+2*8. When there is more than one operation in a formula, the order of operations tells Excel which operation to calculate first. In order to use Excel to calculate complex formulas, you will need to understand the order of operations.
Optional: Download our Lesson 14 Practice Workbook.
Order of Operations
Excel calculates formulas based on the following order of operations:
- Operations enclosed in parentheses
- Exponential calculations (3^2, for example)
- Multiplication and division, whichever comes first
- Addition and subtraction, whichever comes first
A mnemonic that can help you remember the order is PEMDAS or Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.
Click the arrows in the slideshow below to learn more about how the order of operations is used to calculate formulas in Excel.
While this formula may look really complicated, we can use the order of operations step-by-step to find the right answer.
First, we'll start by calculating anything inside the parentheses. In this case, there's only one thing we need to calculate: 6-3=3.
As you can see, the formula already looks a bit simpler. Next, we'll look to see if there are any exponents. There's one: 2^2=4.
Next, we'll solve any multiplication and division, working from left to right. Because the division operation comes before the multiplication, it is calculated first: 3/4=0.75.
Now, we'll do our remaining multiplication operation: 0.75*4=3.
Next, we'll calcu