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Practise Excel online

Excel exercises you can actually do

Work in a real spreadsheet, enter your answer and get feedback on the method you used. Start with a single cell, then build up to formulas, lookups, charts and data analysis.

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84 exercises · 17 parts

Part 01

Excel Basics

Eight exercises on the things nobody is ever shown, and the first of them starts further back than most courses do. Where a cell is and how to click it. How an address is put together, so that C4 stops being a riddle. What a formula is, printed out in full for you to copy before anyone asks you to invent one. What happens when you type over something that is already there. Why a column of numbers sometimes refuses to add up. And what a cell full of hash marks is actually telling you.

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  1. 01Click a cell and type in itThe first thing of all: click one square in the grid, type into it, and press Enter to make it stick.2 min
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  2. 02Find a cell from its addressRead the column letters along the top and the row numbers down the side, and work out what a cell is called.2 min
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  3. 03Type a value into the right cellFind a cell from its address and type a number into it: the one skill every other Excel skill sits on top of.2 min
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  4. 04Type a formula that is given to youBefore working one out yourself, type a formula exactly as it is printed and watch the cell answer instead of repeating it.3 min
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  5. 05Change a number and watch the total followThe point of a formula, in one edit: change a cell it points at and the answer updates on its own.2 min
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  6. 06Edit a cell that already has something in itFix a typo in a cell without retyping the row, and learn what Excel does when you type over a cell that is not empty.2 min
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  7. 07Spot a number that is secretly textA total that ignores one of its rows is usually caused by a number Excel is treating as text. Find it and fix it.4 min
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  8. 08What ##### actually meansA cell full of hash marks is not an error. Widen the column and find out what it was hiding.3 min
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Part 02

Cells and Ranges

A range is two corners and a colon, and once that notation is automatic every function in Excel becomes easier to read. These four exercises cover writing a range address, filling a value down a column, continuing a number series, and copying a block from one place to another.

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  1. 09Write the address of a rangeLearn the two-cells-and-a-colon notation that every function in Excel expects.3 min
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  2. 10Fill one value down a columnEnter a value once and copy it down six rows with the fill handle instead of typing it six times.3 min
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  3. 11Continue a number seriesGive the fill handle two numbers instead of one and it continues the pattern rather than repeating it.3 min
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  4. 12Copy and paste a block of cellsMove a whole rectangle of data in two keystrokes, and see that paste lands from the top-left corner.4 min
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Part 03

Basic Formulas

Four exercises on arithmetic that points at cells instead of containing numbers. You will write your first formula, discover that there is no SUBTRACT function, find out what brackets are actually for, and work out a share of a total.

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  1. 13Write your first formulaAdd two cells together by pointing at them, and see why that beats typing the answer.4 min
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  2. 14Subtract one cell from anotherThere is no SUBTRACT function in Excel. Here is what to use instead.3 min
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  3. 15Brackets change the answerExcel does multiplication and division before addition and subtraction. Get that wrong and the number looks plausible.4 min
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  4. 16Work out a share of the totalDivide a part by the whole to get a proportion, then show it as a percentage.4 min
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  5. 17Calculate gross and net pay in a payrollUse salary, allowances and deductions to calculate gross pay and net pay for four employees.7 min
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Part 04

SUM and AVERAGE

The five functions that answer most questions anyone asks about a column of numbers: how much altogether, what is typical, what is the smallest, the largest, and how many are there.

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  1. 18Total a column with SUMAdd up six cells with one function instead of five plus signs, and get a total that survives new rows.3 min
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  2. 19Average a column with AVERAGEUse AVERAGE rather than dividing by a number you counted yourself.3 min
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  3. 20MIN, MAX and COUNTThree more functions with the same shape as SUM: the smallest, the largest, and how many.4 min
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  4. 21Total the rows and the columns of a tableSUM across as well as down, and check the two totals agree, the oldest error check in accounting.5 min
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  5. 22Consolidate eight weeks of salesTotal eight weekly sales columns for each employee with one SUM formula per row.5 min
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Part 05

Cell References

Four exercises on the dollar sign. Copying a formula down a column, locking a single rate so every row can use it, filling a whole table from one formula with mixed references, and predicting what a copied formula will become before you copy it.

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  1. 23Copy a formula down a columnWrite one multiplication and let the fill handle write the other four, shifting the references as it goes.4 min
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  2. 24Lock a reference with dollar signsOne rate in one cell, used by every row. Without $ the formula falls apart the moment you copy it.5 min
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  3. 25Mixed references in a gridLock the row for one reference and the column for the other, and fill a whole table from a single formula.6 min
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  4. 26Predict what a copied formula becomesNo new function here, just prove you can say in advance what Excel will do to a reference.4 min
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  5. 27Calculate salary increase scenariosUse absolute references to apply three pay increase rates across several employee rows.7 min
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Part 06

IF and Logic

Making Excel decide. A single IF with a boundary that has to be right, AND where every condition must hold, OR where any one will do, and a nested chain of grade bands where the order of the tests is the whole exercise.

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  1. 28Your first IF formulaMake Excel choose between two answers, and get the boundary right the first time.5 min
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  2. 29IF with AND: both conditions must holdPay the bonus only when sales are high and returns are low. AND is what makes it only.5 min
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  3. 30IF with OR: either condition is enoughFlag an order for review if it is either slow or expensive. One trigger is enough.4 min
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  4. 31Nested IF: grade bands in the right orderFour grades from one formula, and the order of the tests is the whole exercise.7 min
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  5. 32Build a student grading boardCalculate each student's average, pass status, class rank and letter grade with formulas.10 min
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  6. 33Audit trainee records against rulesUse IF, AND and OR to flag trainee rows that break age or category rules.7 min
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Part 07

COUNTIF and SUMIF

Counting and totalling only the rows that match. Four exercises over the same ten-row sales log, so by the fourth one the data is familiar and the only new thing is the function.

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  1. 34Count rows that match with COUNTIFAsk how many rows say North without filtering, sorting or counting by eye.4 min
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  2. 35COUNTIF with a comparisonCount the rows above a threshold, and learn why the condition has to go in quotes.4 min
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  3. 36Add up only the matching rows with SUMIFTotal South's revenue without touching the other seven rows. SUMIF looks in one column and adds up another.5 min
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  4. 37Two conditions at once with SUMIFSSUMIFS takes as many conditions as you like, and puts its arguments in the opposite order to SUMIF.6 min
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  5. 38Audit duplicate account numbersUse COUNTIF with a locked range to find repeated account IDs in an employee list.5 min
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Part 08

Text Functions

Cleaning up data that arrived in the wrong shape, which is what a great deal of real spreadsheet work consists of. Removing invisible spaces, splitting a reference code into its parts, joining names together with the capitals fixed, and swapping characters out by content rather than position.

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  1. 39Clean up messy text with TRIMInvisible spaces are why your lookup says #N/A for a name that is clearly right there. TRIM removes them.5 min
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  2. 40Split a code with LEFT, MID and RIGHTPull the three parts out of a reference number by counting characters from each end.5 min
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  3. 41Join text together and fix the capitalsBuild a full name from two columns with & and tidy the capitalisation with PROPER.5 min
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  4. 42Replace characters, and find a positionSUBSTITUTE swaps one piece of text for another everywhere it appears; FIND tells you where something is.6 min
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  5. 43Clean customer names with TRIM and PROPERRepair inconsistent spacing and capitalisation in customer names with two text functions.5 min
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  6. 44Join first names and surnamesCombine two name columns into a full name with CONCAT and a space between the words.4 min
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Part 09

Lookup Functions

Five exercises on matching one table against another. A straightforward VLOOKUP, a broken one to repair, a banded lookup where approximate matching is the right answer, XLOOKUP with a readable not-found message, and INDEX with MATCH for looking leftwards.

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  1. 45Look up a value with VLOOKUPFind a row by its code and read something out of it, the job VLOOKUP exists for.6 min
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  2. 46Fix a broken VLOOKUPA real formula, genuinely broken, showing #REF!. Work out what the error is telling you and repair it.6 min
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  3. 47Banded lookup with approximate matchThe one case where TRUE is the right fourth argument: finding which band a number falls into.7 min
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  4. 48XLOOKUP, and a message instead of #N/AThe modern replacement for VLOOKUP: two plain ranges, exact match by default, and somewhere to put a sensible not-found message.6 min
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  5. 49Look leftwards with INDEX and MATCHVLOOKUP cannot read to the left. INDEX and MATCH together can look in any direction at all.8 min
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  6. 50Build an employee VLOOKUP directoryUse an employee ID to look up a name and location from a small staff directory.6 min
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Part 10

Sorting and Filtering

Four exercises using the grid's tool panels rather than formulas. Sorting a table so whole rows move together, noticing that a reference now points at a different record, filtering a list down to one region, and taking the duplicates out of a mailing list.

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  1. 51Sort a table by one columnPut the biggest sellers at the top, and understand why the whole row has to move.4 min
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  2. 52Sorting changes what a reference points atSort first, then read the top and bottom rows, and notice that a formula pointing at row 2 now means something different.5 min
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  3. 53Filter a list down to what mattersHide the rows you are not interested in. Filtering does not delete anything. It just stops showing it.4 min
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  4. 54Remove duplicate rowsA mailing list with two addresses in it twice. Find them without reading all eight rows.4 min
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  5. 55Sort bonuses and total by departmentSort an employee bonus table by department and use SUMIF to total Admin and HR bonuses.7 min
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Part 11

Charts

Three exercises on chart choice, which is a question about the data rather than about taste. Columns for comparing categories, a line for change over time, and a pie only when the slices genuinely add up to a whole.

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  1. 56Pick a column chart to compare categoriesFour regions, one measure. The chart type that answers 'which is biggest' is a column chart.4 min
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  2. 57Use a line chart for change over timeTwelve months of visitors. A line shows the shape of the change; columns would hide it.4 min
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  3. 58A pie chart needs parts of a wholeWork out each region's share, prove the shares add to 100%, and only then draw the pie.6 min
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  4. 59Total deposits and build a column chartAdd three deposit types for each region and chart the regional totals in a column chart.7 min
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Part 12

Data Analysis

Four exercises on the calculations that turn a list into a finding. Percentage change with the denominator the right way round, a weighted average where the plain average is simply wrong, a pivot table that reduces ten rows to three, and IFERROR used carefully rather than as a way of making a column look tidy.

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  1. 60Percentage change between two yearsNew minus old, divided by old. Get the denominator wrong and every figure in the report is wrong.5 min
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  2. 61Weighted average with SUMPRODUCTWhen the items carry different weights, AVERAGE gives the wrong answer. Here is the right one.7 min
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  3. 62Summarise a log with a pivot tableTen rows into three, grouped by region, without writing a single formula.6 min
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  4. 63Catch division errors with IFERROROne campaign has no impressions yet. Stop it filling the column with #DIV/0! without hiding a real problem.5 min
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Part 13

What Kind of Data Is This?

Three exercises on the question nobody asks before they start calculating: what kind of data is this? Categorical or numerical, and then nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio, because the level of measurement decides which statistics are meaningful and which are nonsense dressed up with decimal places.

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  1. 64Categorical or numerical?Some columns of digits are not numbers. Sorting them out first is what stops you averaging something meaningless.4 min
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  2. 65Nominal, ordinal, interval or ratioFour levels of measurement, and each one allows a different set of sums. Getting the level right tells you which statistics are honest.5 min
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  3. 66An average that means nothingExcel will average anything you point it at, including things that should never be averaged. Here is one of each.5 min
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Part 14

Describing Data

Four exercises on summarising a column honestly. The mean and the median side by side, what one outlier does to each of them, why two classes with the same average can have nothing in common, and how the middle half of your data is often the only part worth quoting.

Paid plan
  1. 67Mean and median side by sideTwo ways to say what is typical. When they disagree, the gap between them is itself the finding.5 min
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  2. 68One outlier moves the meanChange a single value and watch which of the two averages moves. That is the whole argument for the median.5 min
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  3. 69Range and standard deviationTwo classes with the same average and completely different experiences. Spread is what tells them apart.6 min
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  4. 70Quartiles and the middle halfCut the data into four. The middle two quarters are where most of your customers actually are.6 min
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  5. 71Analyse deposits with MAX, MIN and LARGEFind the highest, lowest and second-largest savings values from a regional deposit table.5 min
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Part 15

Dates and Rounding

A date in Excel is a number counting days, dressed up by formatting. Once that lands, pulling the month out of a date and working out the gap between two of them both stop being mysterious.

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  1. 72Pull the year, month and day out of a dateA date is a number wearing a costume. Once you know that, grouping by month stops being a chore.5 min
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  2. 73How many days between two datesBecause a date is a number, subtracting one from another just works, and the answer is in days.4 min
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  3. 74ROUND is not the same as formattingFormatting changes what you see. ROUND changes what is there. Totals built on the difference do not add up.6 min
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  4. 75Do these two columns move together?CORREL returns a number between -1 and 1. What it does not return is a reason.6 min
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Part 16

Things That Go Wrong Quietly

Five exercises on spreadsheets that look entirely fine and are wrong. A leading zero Excel deleted for you, a formula frozen into a value, a total whose range stopped one row short, a column of numbers that is secretly text, and a blank cell being quietly treated as a zero.

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  1. 76The disappearing leading zeroType a product code starting with zero and Excel helpfully deletes it. Here is how to make it stay.5 min
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  2. 77Freeze a result with Paste valuesSometimes you want the number without the formula behind it. Paste values is how, and knowing when is the real lesson.5 min
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  3. 78The range that stopped one row shortA new row was added under the table. The total did not notice, and it never will.5 min
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  4. 79Find and replace a stray characterAn export put a currency symbol in every cell, and the whole column is now text. One replace fixes all of it.5 min
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  5. 80A blank is not a zeroTwo cells look equally empty to you and are completely different to AVERAGE. Which one you use changes the answer.6 min
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Part 17

Practical Challenges

Four longer exercises that describe an outcome and leave the method to you. Repair a report with three separate faults, build a commission model with a banded rate and a minimum payment, clean a customer list and match it against an account table, and build a four-figure summary dashboard.

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  1. 81Challenge: fix the broken sales reportThree separate faults in one small report, and one of them is currently showing the right answer.10 min
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  2. 82Challenge: build a commission modelA banded lookup, a locked table and a minimum payment rule, in one model that has to work for every row.12 min
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  3. 83Challenge: clean a list, then match itNames typed by four different people, and an account table that will only match clean ones.10 min
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  4. 84Challenge: build a summary dashboardFour questions about one sales log, answered with four formulas. No instructions on which functions to use.12 min
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