When we are dealing with data, we must use a number of representative metrics. This includes average values, median values, etc. Among these metrics, the ‘Range’ value is often used and can get help assignment on excel for students. Let’s look at how to find ranges in Excel.
What is a Cell Range
An Excel cell range refers to a selection of cells within a spreadsheet. It is usually symmetrical (square), but may also be composed of separate cells. Cell ranges can also be referenced using formulas.
Spreadsheets define cell ranges by referencing the leftmost cell (also known as the minimum value) and the rightmost cell (also known as the maximum value) within a range. In Excel, the minimum and maximum values are included in an irregular cell range if additional cells are added to this selection.
Range = maximum value – minimum value
The range is the lowest number (2) minus the highest number (15) if you have a set of data such as 4, 2, 5, 8, 12, 15.
Range = 15-2 = 13
Box and whisker plots indicate the range of a set of data by the ends of the whiskers, which stand for the minimum and maximum values. Ranges with a large range suggest that the results are widely spread, while ranges with a small range propose facts this is intently targeted around a particular value.
How to Calculate Range in Excel
If you’re producing something like a box and whisker plot, then you might need to consider the range of values in your data set as a starting point in analyzing it. Excel offers two built-in functions for finding the range in data: “MIN” and “MAX”.
The MIN and MAX Functions
Excel’s range finder works by taking the minimum and maximum values of a data set. Type “=MIN” into a cell to find the minimum. Start by double-clicking “MIN” in the drop-down list or by entering a “(“. Find the first data point by typing its column letter and row number inside the parentheses. You must type in the letter and number of the last data point, followed by a colon, and close the parentheses to return the minimum value if your data is in a single row or column. You can also accomplish this by clicking on the appropriate cell, then holding down “Shift” and clicking on the cell before closing the parentheses with the last data point.
Irregularly spaced data can be specified by specifying each cell individually, separated by a comma. For example, you could input “=MIN(A2, F3, H12, J1)” to find the minimum of A2, F3, H12, and J1.
By typing “=MAX” into a cell and then using the same process as for the “MIN” function, you can find the maximum value within the set of data.
Range in Excel in Steps
Excel’s range method is to calculate the minimum value in a cell (e.g., in cell E1) and the maximum value in a different cell (e.g., in cell F1), as described in the previous step. To the question of how to find the range in Excel it can be done by typing “=F1-E1” in another cell. This will tell Excel to subtrahend E1 from F1, which will give you the range.
Calculating Range in One Step
If the data runs from cell A2 to cell A20, you can use the formulas above to find the range in a single step. Type “=MAX(A2:A20)-MIN(A2:A20)” to find the range in one go. By doing this, Excel will find the maximum of the values and then take the minimum of those values out.
How to Find Range in Excel
Calculating the range requires only the following two arithmetic operations:
- Finding the largest value
- Finding the smallest value
- Finding the difference between the two
Notes:
- Your workbook’s ranges are shown in the Go-To popup window.
- You can move to unnamed cells by pressing Ctrl+G, typing a range in the Reference box, and clicking Enter (or Ok).
- e.g., sheet2!$D$12 for a cell, and sheet3!$C$12:$F$21 for a range.) • For a sheet reference, enter sheet name with an exclamation point and both cell and range references.
- When you enter multiple named ranges or cell references, you can separate each one with a comma, such as B14:C22, F19:G30, H21:H29. Excel will highlight all the ranges when you click OK or press Enter.
Final words
An Excel cell range refers to a selection of cells within a spreadsheet. Let’s look at how to find the range in Excel. Excel offers two built-in functions for finding the range in data: “MIN” and “MAX”. Excel’s range finder works by taking the minimum and maximum values of a data set. Type “=MIN” into a cell to find the minimum. For example, you could input “=MIN(A2, F3, H12, J1)” to find the minimum of A2, F3, H12, and J1. You can find the range by typing “=F1-E1” in another cell. If the data runs from cell A2 to cell A20, you can use the formulas above to find the range in a single step. You can move to unnamed cells by pressing Ctrl+G, typing a range in the Reference box, and clicking Enter (or Ok).
