How does this operate?

Hi Usman,

I hope you enjoyed your Excel training. Thank you for your question.

The IF function allows Excel to display different answers dependant on certain criteria being met or not met (for example to show whether a student has passed or failed an exam).

To create the formula, you click in the cell where you want the answer to appear and use the Insert Function button (fx) to choose the If function.

In the If function dialogue box you have 3 separate areas – the logical test, the value (or text) you want to return if your criteria is met, and the value (or text) you wish to return if your criteria is not met.

For example to show whether a student has passed or failed an exam you would do the following:

• In the logical test section:
o Click on the cell that you wish Excel to check – in this instance the cell which shows the mark the student achieved.
o If the pass mark is 50%, then you need Excel to check whether the mark achieved by the student is greater than 50%.
o Your logical test is whether the amount in cell A1 (for example) is greater than (>) 50%.
o Your logical test would therefore read A1>50%
• In the value if true section you would type Pass. This means that if the logical test is found to be true (i.e. the mark is greater than 50%), then the cell will show the word Pass.
• In the value if false section you would type Fail. This means that if the logical test is found to be false (the mark is NOT greater than 50%), then the cell will show the word Fail.

I hope this answers your question. If it has, please mark this question as resolved.

If you require further assistance, please reply to this post.

Have a great day.

Regards,

Nicole.