Sum Function

Sum Function

Probably the most popular function in any spreadsheet is the SUM function. The Sum function takes all of the values in each of the specified cells and totals their values. The syntax is:

=SUM(first value, second value, etc)

In the first and second spots you can enter any of the following (constant, cell, range of cells).

Blank cells will return a value of zero to be added to the total.
Text cells can not be added to a number and will produce an error.

Let's use the table here for the discussion that follows:

We will look at several different specific examples that show how the typical function can be used! Notice that in A4 there is a TEXT entry. This has NO numeric value and can not be included in a total.

	A
1	25
2	50
3	75
4	test
5

Example	Cells to ADD	Answer
=sum (A1:A3)	A1, A2, A3	150
=sum (A1:A3, 100)	A1, A2, A3 and 100	250
=sum (A1+A4)	A1, A4	#VALUE!
=sum (A1:A2, A5)	A1, A2, A5	75

Sum Function

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