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In Excel, you can perform basic mathematical operations like division, multiplication, addition, and subtraction using simple formulas. These operations form the foundation of many complex calculations you may need to perform while working with data in Excel.

Syntax

Below are the syntaxes for the basic arithmetic operations in Excel:

Example

Here’s a more complex example where all four operations are used. Suppose you have a list of products, their quantities, and prices, and you need to calculate the total revenue, subtract a discount, multiply by tax, and divide the final amount to distribute the total equally among a number of people.

This example combines the four operations:

• Multiplication for calculating revenue: =B2*C2
• Subtraction for deducting discounts: =D2-E2
• Division for equal distribution: =F2/4

Practice Exercise 1

Task: In this exercise, you need to calculate the total cost of purchasing different items and distribute the total cost equally among three friends. Use addition to calculate the total cost, subtraction to deduct a discount, and division to distribute the final amount.

Hint: Use subtraction for the "Final Cost" column and division for the "Cost per Friend" column.

Practice Exercise 2

Task: In this exercise, you need to calculate the total distance covered by a car in three different trips, multiply the distance by the fuel consumption rate to calculate the total fuel used, and then divide the result by the number of passengers to get the fuel usage per passenger.

Solution to Exercise 1

Final Cost and Cost per Friend:

=B2-C2
=B3-C3
=B4-C4

=D2/3
=D3/3
=D4/3

Solution to Exercise 2

Total Fuel Used and Fuel per Passenger:

=B2*C2
=B3*C3
=B4*C4

=D2/5
=D3/5
=D4/5

This format provides the formulas in one block per exercise without using bullet points.