Excel Tutorial

In Excel, relative references (A1) adjust automatically when you copy a formula to another. For example, if Cell B1 has "=A1+10", if you copy it to B2, it becomes "=A2+10". This means that the references 'move' with the formula

Meanwhile, absolute references ($A$1) always stay to the exact same cell, regardless of where you copy the formula. Take the previous example. If Cell B1 has "=$A$1 +10", when copied to B2, it will stay as "=$A$1+10". 

Note that you can also use mixed selection, by either using "$A1" (this locks the column), or "A$1" (this locks the row).

The IF() function tests whether a condition is true or false on a certain value, with the function giving different outputs whether the condition is true or false. For example, when calculating final grades, you could use the following statement: =IF(A1 >50, "Pass", "Fail"). If the grade value is above 50, then Pass will be the output. If not, then the statement will output Fail.

In Excel, conditional formatting automatically changes a cell's appearance based on its value. In order to access conditional format, click on Conditional Formatting, which is found on the Home ribbon.