MS Excel Questions and Answers

Answer: B

Correct answer: Scenario

A scenario is a named set of input values stored with the workbook, so several sets of assumptions can be saved and switched between without retyping.

Answer: B

Correct answer: TRUE or FALSE

A comparison returns a logical value - TRUE or FALSE - not a number. =A1>B1 reports whether A1 exceeds B1. The comparison operators are =, >, <, >=, <= and <> for not equal. That last one catches people out, since it is written with two angle brackets rather than the mathematical symbol. Logical values behave as numbers in arithmetic, TRUE counting as 1 and FALSE as 0, which is what makes expressions such as =SUMPRODUCT((A1:A10>5)*1) work as a count. These comparisons are the raw material of the IF function, which turns them into useful results: =IF(A1>B1,"Higher","Lower"). To find the larger of two values - the second option - the function is MAX, and for the difference it is simple subtraction.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Allow you to view additional sheets tabs

The four small arrows at the left of the sheet tabs scroll the tabs when there are more sheets than fit. They change which tabs are visible, not which sheet is active.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Bar charts, line graphs and pie charts

Excel’s Chart Wizard offers a wide range of chart types - column and bar, line, pie, XY scatter, area, doughnut, radar, surface, bubble and stock among them. Of the choices offered, only the one naming bar charts, line graphs and pie charts reflects that breadth; the others exclude types Excel plainly supports.

Answer: B

Correct answer: You can set condition to look for Bold and apply Italics on them

Conditional formatting tests values, not existing formatting, so it cannot look for cells that are already bold. It can apply font, border and pattern formats, take more than one condition, and have conditions deleted.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Currency Symbol

The Number category offers decimal places, the thousands separator and the treatment of negative numbers. A currency symbol is what distinguishes the Currency and Accounting categories from it.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Esc key

Pressing Esc ends the slide show and returns to the editing view, so it is the one key listed that does not move you forward. The spacebar, the Enter key and a click of the mouse all advance to the next slide or next animation.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Edit the slide master

A background placed on the slide master appears on every slide that follows it, and any slide added later inherits it too. Applying it slide by slide would leave new slides untouched.

Answer: C

Correct answer: position the mouse pointer over the cell

A comment appears when the pointer rests on the cell carrying the red triangle, and disappears when it moves away. Showing it permanently is a separate option.

Answer: A

Correct answer: find a value in the first column of a range and return a value from another column of the same row

VLOOKUP searches for a value down the first column of a range and returns a value from a specified column of the matching row. Its arguments are the lookup value, the table range, the column index number, and a final argument for the match type. The final argument is where most errors arise. FALSE demands an exact match; TRUE, which is the default if omitted, finds the nearest match below and requires the first column to be sorted. Leaving it out on unsorted data returns wrong answers silently rather than an error, which makes it a dangerous default. Two structural limitations are worth knowing: it can only look rightwards from the first column, and the column index breaks if a column is inserted into the table. HLOOKUP does the same across a row. INDEX with MATCH, and the newer XLOOKUP, avoid both limitations and are now generally preferred.