Absolute reference practice
BeginnerWhen you apply the same rate to many rows (like a sales tax rate), you want one cell to control the rate.
If your rate is in a fixed cell, you can lock that reference with dollar signs (for example, $A$2) so it does not move when you copy the formula down.
What you need to do
In this sheet:
- The sales tax rate is in A2
- Unit prices are in B5:B9
Your goal is to calculate the after-tax price for each product in column C.
- Click cell C5 (Price with tax).
- Enter a formula that takes the unit price in B5 and multiplies it by (1 + tax rate).
- Make the tax rate cell an absolute reference (so A2 stays fixed when you copy the formula).
- Press Enter.
- Copy the formula down through C9.
To copy down, select C5 and drag the small square at the bottom-right corner of the cell down to C9.
For more in-depth information on reference types, see the absolute vs relative references article.
Need some help?
Hint 1
When you copy a formula down, cell references usually shift by a row. In this task, only the unit price should change each row. The tax rate should stay pointing to the same cell.
Hint 2
You can add/remove the $ signs quickly: select the tax rate reference inside your formula and press F4 (on some keyboards, Fn+F4) to toggle relative/absolute/mixed references.
Hint 3
If your results look wrong after copying, check what changed: the unit price reference should move from row to row, while the tax rate reference should not.
Absolute reference practice
BeginnerWhen you apply the same rate to many rows (like a sales tax rate), you want one cell to control the rate.
If your rate is in a fixed cell, you can lock that reference with dollar signs (for example, $A$2) so it does not move when you copy the formula down.
What you need to do
In this sheet:
- The sales tax rate is in A2
- Unit prices are in B5:B9
Your goal is to calculate the after-tax price for each product in column C.
- Click cell C5 (Price with tax).
- Enter a formula that takes the unit price in B5 and multiplies it by (1 + tax rate).
- Make the tax rate cell an absolute reference (so A2 stays fixed when you copy the formula).
- Press Enter.
- Copy the formula down through C9.
To copy down, select C5 and drag the small square at the bottom-right corner of the cell down to C9.
For more in-depth information on reference types, see the absolute vs relative references article.
Need some help?
Hint 1
When you copy a formula down, cell references usually shift by a row. In this task, only the unit price should change each row. The tax rate should stay pointing to the same cell.
Hint 2
You can add/remove the $ signs quickly: select the tax rate reference inside your formula and press F4 (on some keyboards, Fn+F4) to toggle relative/absolute/mixed references.
Hint 3
If your results look wrong after copying, check what changed: the unit price reference should move from row to row, while the tax rate reference should not.