MS Excel Questions and Answers

Answer: D

The shortcut for inserting a hyperlink in MS Excel is Ctrl + K.

Ctrl + K opens the Insert Hyperlink dialog in Excel, Word and PowerPoint alike, so the same key works across MS Office.

The others do different things in Excel. Ctrl + R is Fill Right, copying the leftmost cell of a selection into the cells to its right. Ctrl + O opens a workbook. Ctrl + T creates a table from the selected range.

Answer: C

The function is conditional formatting.

Conditional formatting changes the appearance of cells (fill colour, font, data bars, colour scales or icon sets) automatically when their values meet a rule, such as values above a threshold or duplicates. It is used to make unusual values and patterns stand out.

Merge and Center joins cells into one, What-If Analysis tests how changing inputs affects results (Goal Seek, Scenario Manager, Data Tables), and Wrap Text fits long text on several lines within a cell. None of them depends on a condition.

Answer: B

The two common types are Absolute and Relative references.

A relative reference such as A1 changes when a formula is copied to another cell, adjusting to the new position. An absolute reference such as $A$1 is fixed with dollar signs and always points to the same cell. Excel also allows mixed references like $A1, which lock only the column or the row.

Static and dynamic, fixed and flexible, and positive and negative are not the names Excel uses for cell references.

Answer: D

The AutoFill handle is at the bottom right corner of the active cell.

In spreadsheets such as Excel, the fill handle is the small square at the lower right corner of the selected cell or range. Dragging it copies the contents into neighbouring cells or continues a series such as dates, numbers or weekdays. Double-clicking it fills down to match the adjacent column.

Nothing that triggers AutoFill appears at the top left, bottom left or top right corners.

Answer: C

The Assertion is true, but the Reason is false.

The Assertion describes Excel functions correctly: a function such as SUM or AVERAGE is a predefined formula that takes arguments (data), processes them and returns a value.

The Reason is wrong. Ordinary formulas are the ones built from operators like +, −, * and /, for example =A1+A2. Functions differ precisely because they are ready-made, named routines, =SUM(A1:A2), that do the work without the user writing out the operators. So the options calling the Reason true fail.

Answer: B

The default referencing mode is relative.

A reference such as A1 in a spreadsheet formula is relative: when the formula is copied to another cell, the reference shifts by the same number of rows and columns. That is why a formula can be filled down a column and still point to the right row each time.

An absolute reference ($A$1) stays fixed when copied, and a mixed reference ($A1 or A$1) fixes only the column or only the row. Both have to be typed deliberately with dollar signs. 'Manual' is not a referencing mode; it is a calculation setting.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Double clicking the cell to edit it in-place

Double-clicking puts the cell into edit mode with the cursor where it was clicked. Pressing F2 or clicking in the formula bar does the same thing.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Insert, New slide

A slide is added to an open presentation from the Insert menu, choosing New Slide (Ctrl + M). File → New starts a whole new presentation and File → Open loads an existing one; the File menu has no add a new slide command.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Inserts summary rows into a sorted list at each change of a chosen column

The Subtotal command inserts summary rows into a list wherever a chosen column changes value - a total for each region, department or month - together with a grand total, and adds outline controls so the detail can be collapsed. Its one prerequisite is that the list must first be sorted by the column being grouped on. Applied to unsorted data it produces a subtotal at every change of value, which may be dozens of meaningless groups. That step is where most difficulty with the feature arises. The rows it inserts use the SUBTOTAL function rather than SUM, which is what allows nested subtotals to avoid double counting and makes the totals respect any filter applied afterwards. The outline numbers at the left collapse the view to totals alone, which is useful for printing a summary. Subtotals are removed with the Remove All button in the same dialogue. For anything more elaborate, a pivot table is the better tool.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Double clicking the format painter button

A single click applies the formatting once and turns the tool off; double-clicking locks it on until Esc is pressed.