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Designing spreadsheets including relative, absolute and mixed references

Source: licencja: CC 0.

Projektowanie arkuszy kalkulacyjnych z uwzględnieniem adresowania względnego, bezwzględnego i mieszanego

You will learn
  • what cell references are,

  • the types of references: relative, absolute and mixed,

  • what happens to copied formulas depending on the type of cell reference.

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nagranie abstraktu

In a spreadsheet you can copy and move entire cells or only their value. When you copy or move the content of a cellcellcell, all data are copied or moved, including values, formulas and cell formats. The topic of the lesson is what will happen to formulas when you copy cells. The knowledge of the principles of cell addressing will enable to correctly and quickly perform this operation, and thus speed up the process of creating a worksheet.

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nagranie abstraktu

The address of a cellcellcell clearly specifies its location in a spreadsheet. When the cell address is used in mathematical formulas, it is also called a cell reference. There are three types of cell references:

  • relative,

  • mixed,

  • absolute.

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Ilustracja interaktywna przedstawia fragment arkusza kalkulacyjnego. W wybranych komórkach zostały umieszczone formuły stosujące różne typy adresowania. W komórce B3 równa się B 3. W komórce A4 równa się znak dolara A znak dolara 4. W komórce A1 równa się znak dolara A 1. W komórce C2 równa się C znak dolara 2. Na ilustracji widoczne są numery, a na nich podpisy. 1. relative reference {audio}, 2. absolute reference {audio}, 3. mixed reference {audio}, 4. mixed reference {audio}.
The types of cell references.
Source: GroMar, licencja: CC BY 3.0.
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nagranie abstraktu

relative referencerelative referencerelative reference is a default cell reference in Excel. It uses the relative location of cells in relation to one another, not their specific addresses. If, for example, you refer to the content of cell A2 from cell C2, Excel „knows” that this is a cell that is located two columns to the left in the same row (row 2). When you copy formulas that contain relative cell references, Excel changes all relative cell references into the same references in relation to the target cell.

Example 1
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nagranie abstraktu

If you copy the formulaformulaformula =A2+B2 from cell C2 to C3, the cell references are adjusted to the row below and the formula in C3 becomes =A3+B3. It is very convenient since the data series on which we perform the same operations are usually located in the same rows or columns.

Task 1
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nagranie abstraktu

Think about and without using the computer specify how the formula =F2+D6 in cellcellcell C3 will change when you copy it to cells: B2, C2 ,C4 and E5.

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Relative reference
Source: GroMar, licencja: CC BY 3.0.
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nagranie abstraktu

If you want to maintain the original cell references when cells are copied, you must „fix” these cells. An absolute referenceabsolute referenceabsolute reference is used for this purpose. You make the cell reference absolute by preceding the reference to the column and row with the dollar sign ($).

Example 2
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nagranie abstraktu
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Absolute reference

When you copy the formula =$A$2+$B$2 from cell B3 do C3, you enter exactly the same formula there.

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nagranie abstraktu

Sometimes a mixed referencemixed referencemixed reference may be useful. You can create it by preceding with the dollar sign ($) either the row (A$2) or the column value ($A2). This way you can fix only the reference to the row or only to the column when you copy the cell. In order to fix both, you must precede with the dollar sign ($) both the row and the column value ($A$2).

Example 3
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nagranie abstraktu

Below you can see an example presenting how the reference to cell A1 changes when you copy the formulaformulaformula containing its address from cellcellcell B2 to D4 using various reference types.

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Source: GroMar, licencja: CC BY 3.0.
  • Absolute: $A$1 → $A$1,

  • Mixed: A$1 → D$1,

  • Mixed: $A1 → $A3,

  • Relative: A1 → D3.

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nagranie abstraktu

mixed referencemixed referencemixed reference is used quite rarely since we usually copy a formula both to another row and another column. In other words, a mixed reference is a type of reference which refers to the addresses of cells located in one column or in one row when you copy a function. You do not have to use it if you copy data from a single column and a single row.

Task 2
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nagranie abstraktu

Download the worksheet and calculate:

  • in column B – the price of the products increased by 10%,

  • in column C – the price of the products decreased by 10%,

  • in column D – the price of the products (from column A) when they are shipped by a courier.

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Plik z danymi do zadania
File to download
Task 3
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nagranie abstraktu

Download the worksheet with the task and create the multiplication table by using a mixed referencemixed referencemixed reference.

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Plik do pobrania zawiera tabelkę do wypełnienia tabliczką mnożenia
File to download
Task 4
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nagranie abstraktu

The capital placed in a bank account increases by 3% over the year. Calculate the value of the capital after 5 years assuming that the bank will not change the interest rate. Download the worksheet with the task.

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Plik z danymi do zadania
File to download
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nagranie abstraktu

The three types of references are used in a spreadsheet: relative, absolute and mixed. When you copy formulas, relative and mixed cellcellcell references change, while absolute cell references stay the same. Using the correct cell references enables the error‑free copyingcopyingcopying of mathematical formulas and consequently speeds up the creation of a worksheet.

Exercises

Exercise 1
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Wersja alternatywna ćwiczenia: Determine which sentences are true. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. A mixed reference does not change when you copy it., 2. A mixed reference changes when you copy it., 3. A relative reference changes when you copy it., 4. A relative reference does not change when you copy it., 5. An absolute reference changes when you copy it., 6. An absolute reference does not change when you copy it.
zadanie
Source: GroMar, licencja: CC BY 3.0.
Exercise 2

Imagine that you are organizing a birthday party and you want to invite your friends. Make a shopping list including prices in a spreadsheet. Select any two currencies and check how much the particular product will cost in these currencies.

Exercise 3

Describe in English the types of cell references in a spreadsheet.

Exercise 4
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Wersja alternatywna ćwiczenia: Indicate which pairs of expressions or words are translated correctly. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. adresowanie względne - relative reference, 2. adresowanie bezwzględne - absolute reference, 3. adresowanie mieszane - mixed reference, 4. kopiowanie - copying, 5. komórka - formula, 6. formuła - cell
zadanie
Source: GroMar, licencja: CC BY 3.0.
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Interaktywna gra, polegająca na łączeniu wyrazów w pary w ciągu jednej minuty. Czas zaczyna upływać wraz z rozpoczęciem gry. Jeden ruch to odkrywanie najpierw jednej potem drugiej karty z wyrazem. Każdy wyraz jest odczytywany. Kolejny ruch to odkrywanie trzeciej i czwartej karty. W ten sposób odsłuchasz wszystkie wyrazy. Nawigacja z poziomu klawiatury za pomocą strzałek, odsłuchiwanie wyrazów enterem lub spacją. Znajdź wszystkie pary wyrazów.
Source: Zespół autorski Politechniki Łódzkiej, licencja: CC BY 3.0.

Glossary

absolute reference
absolute reference

adresowanie bezwzględne

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wymowa w języku angielskim: absolute reference
cell
cell

komórka

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wymowa w języku angielskim: cell
copying
copying

kopiowanie

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wymowa w języku angielskim: copying
formula
formula

formuła

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wymowa w języku angielskim: formula
mixed reference
mixed reference

adresowanie mieszane

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wymowa w języku angielskim: mixed reference
relative reference
relative reference

adresowanie względne

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wymowa w języku angielskim: relative reference

Keywords

absolute referenceabsolute referenceabsolute reference

mixed referencemixed referencemixed reference

relative referencerelative referencerelative reference