Your First Formulas
Every formula starts with an equals sign — type one and Excel becomes a powerful calculator.
What you will learn
- Start a formula with the equals sign
- Do arithmetic with plus, minus, times and divide
- Use cell references instead of fixed numbers
The magic equals sign
A formula is how you tell Excel to calculate something. Every formula begins with an equals sign =. The equals sign is the signal that says, “do not just show this text — work it out for me.”
Type =5+3 into a cell and press Enter. The cell does not show the text “5+3” — it shows the answer, 8.
The arithmetic symbols
| Symbol | Means | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
+ | Add | =10+4 | 14 |
- | Subtract | =10-4 | 6 |
* | Multiply | =10*4 | 40 |
/ | Divide | =10/4 | 2.5 |
Watch out: Multiply is a star * and divide is a slash /. They are not the signs you write by hand. And if you forget the = at the start, Excel just shows your text and never calculates.
The real power: use cell references
Typing fixed numbers like =5+3 works, but the true strength of Excel is using cell references. Instead of the number, you point at the cell that holds it.
Imagine a price in A2 and a quantity in B2. To get the total cost, you write:
=A2*B2Note: Output: If A2 is 50 (price) and B2 is 3 (quantity), the cell shows 150. The big win: if you later change A2 to 60, the total instantly updates to 180 by itself. You never have to redo the maths.
Order of operations: brackets matter
Just like in school maths, Excel does multiply and divide before add and subtract. If that is not the order you want, you must group the parts you want done first inside round brackets ( ). Watch how the same numbers give two different answers:
=2+3*4
=(2+3)*4Note: Output: 14 (Excel did 3*4 = 12 first, then added 2) 20 (the brackets forced 2+3 = 5 first, then times 4) Without brackets, multiply went first. The brackets in the second formula changed the order — and the answer. When in doubt, add brackets to make your intention clear.
Tip: You can mix references and numbers freely, like =A2*B2*1.1 to add 10% tax. Brackets are your friend for anything beyond simple maths, for example =(A2+B2)/2 to average two cells — without them Excel would only divide B2 by 2.
Q. Which of these is a correct Excel formula to multiply cell A1 by cell A2?
=, and multiply is the star *. So =A1*A2 is correct.✍️ Practice
- In a sheet, put 8 in A1 and 5 in A2. In A3 write a formula that adds them, and in A4 one that multiplies them.
- Change A1 to 20 and watch A3 and A4 update on their own.
🏠 Homework
- Build a tiny receipt: price in A1, quantity in B1, and a formula in C1 for the total. Then change the quantity and confirm the total recalculates.