Google Sheets 101: Operators

LESSONS

The simplest way to interact with data in a spreadsheet is using operators.

Mathematical operators

You can use a cell just like a calculator with the following:

	A	B
1	Add	+
2	Subtract	-
3	Multiply	*
4	Divide	/
5	Exponent	^

Like a calculator, the cell will follow the order of operations.

Inserting the following formula:

=5+4/2

Displays the number 7 in the cell.

=5*4-2

Displays 18.

=4^2

Displays 16.

You can also use decimals to calculate root values:

=16^0.5

Displays 4.

You can even insert parentheses () to manage the order of operations.

=(3*(5+2)+9)/10

Displays 3.

You can use cell references that contain numbers in place of the numbers in these formulas!

Text operators

Text data has one operator: &

The ampersand operator works by joining text together.

="Name"&"Surname"

Displays: NameSurname

Notice that there's no space between the two pieces of text. That's because the & operator just joins, nothing more. To fix this, you could instead write:

="Name"&" "&"Surname"

Displays: Name Surname

It works on numbers too, but converts the output to text. That's why it's considered a text operator.

Logic operators

A lot of spreadsheet functions are based on logic.

To describe this simply, If this: Then that.

The 'this' is usually a logic test using an operator.

For example, If A1=A2: Then that.

The logic test A1=A2 outputs either TRUE or FALSE:

The data in cells A1 and A2 are equal (true) or the data in cells A1 and A2 are not equal (false).

If TRUE, 'Then that' happens.

If FALSE, 'Then that' does not happen.

Here are all of the operators you can use to test logic:

	A	B	C	D
1	Description	Operator	Example	Result
2	Equal to	=	1=2	FALSE
3	Not equal to	<>	1<>2	TRUE
4	Greater than	>	1>2	FALSE
5	Greater than or equal to	>=	1>=2	FALSE
6	Less than	<	1<2	TRUE
7	Less than or equal to	<=	1<=2	TRUE

Each operator allows for only a TRUE or FALSE output allowing logic tests to pass or fail.

Operator Exercises

Enter a formula for each question in the formula bar for the spreadsheet below to access the next lesson.

1. Adding

In cell B8, enter a formula that calculates Dwight and Jim's total sales. Remember to start your formula with '='.

2. Subtracting

In cell B9, enter a formula that calculates the difference between Dwight and Jim's sales.

3. Joining

In cell B10, enter a formula that displays Andy's full name.

4. Logic

In cell B11, enter a formula that tests if Jim's sales are greater than Dwight's. The desired output is FALSE.

Current question: See the correct formula or clear the formula bar.

	A	B	C
1	First	Last	Sales
2	Dwight	Schrute	10,000
3	Jim	Halpert	8,000
4	Stanley	Hudson	7,000
5	Phyllis	Vance	6,000
6	Andy	Bernard	4,000
7
8	Add:
9	Substract:
10	Text:
11	Logic:
12

Next Lesson

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Google Sheets 101: Operators

Mathematical operators

Text operators

Logic operators

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