XLOOKUP a course instructor

Beginner

When you have a reference table and need to pull a value from it by matching an ID, XLOOKUP is the cleanest tool for the job.

XLOOKUP searches for a value in one column and returns a value from a different column in the same row. The three required arguments are:

=XLOOKUP(lookup_value, lookup_array, return_array)

  • lookup_value: the value you want to find (a course code, a name, an ID, etc.)
  • lookup_array: the column to search in
  • return_array: the column to return a value from

XLOOKUP uses exact match by default (as opposed to VLOOKUP), so no extra argument is needed for that.

Your task

A course catalog is listed in rows 1–7 (course code, course title, instructor). Below it, rows 9–12 show a lookup section with the same columns. The course code and course title columns are already filled in.

  1. Click cell C10.
  2. Write an XLOOKUP formula that finds the course code from A10 in the catalog's course code column ($A$2:$A$7).
  3. Return the matching value from the instructor column ($C$2:$C$7).
  4. Copy the formula down through C12.

When you're done, cells C10:C12 should show the instructor for each course.

Need some help?

Hint 1

The lookup_value (A10) changes as you copy the formula down, but the lookup_array and return_array should stay fixed. Use absolute references ($A$2:$A$7 and $C$2:$C$7) so they do not shift when you copy the formula to C11 and C12.

Hint 2

The return_array is the instructor column ($C$2:$C$7), not the course title column ($B$2:$B$7). Make sure you are pointing to column C in the catalog, not column B.

Related function(s)