In MS Excel, $A$1 is an example of which type of cell reference?
- A.Relative reference
- B.Mixed reference
- C.Absolute reference
- D.Circular reference
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, absolute reference. A dollar sign locks the part of the address that follows it, so $A$1 has both the column and the row locked and keeps pointing at cell A1 however far the formula is copied. It is used when one fixed cell, such as a rate of interest or a conversion factor, must be applied to a whole column of values.
Option A, a relative reference, is written without dollar signs, as A1, and shifts with the copy: dragged one row down it becomes A2. Option B, a mixed reference, carries a single dollar sign, either $A1, which locks only the column, or A$1, which locks only the row. Option D, a circular reference, is not a form of address at all but an error in which a formula refers back to its own cell, directly or through a chain, and Excel warns about it instead of producing an answer. The F4 key cycles a reference being edited through the relative, absolute and two mixed forms.
Read the full article: MS Excel: Formulas, Functions and Shortcuts
Practice Questions
View allIn MS - Excel, what is the shortcut key you can press to Select the entire row?
- A.Ctrl + Shift + Space
- B.Ctrl + Home
- C.Ctrl + Space
- D.Shift + Space
Show answer
Pressing Shift together with the spacebar selects the whole row that holds the active cell, from column A right across to the last column of the grid.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following displays both the name of the application and the name of the spreadsheet in MS-Excel?
- A.Title bar
- B.Tool bar
- C.Task bar
- D.Menu bar
Show answer
The title bar is the strip along the very top of the Excel window, and it carries the name of the open workbook followed by the name of the program, for example Book1 - Excel.
Read the full explanation →The 'LEN' function in MS-Excel belongs to which of the following categories?
- A.Financial
- B.Logical
- C.Text
- D.Math & Trig
Show answer
LEN returns the number of characters in an entry, counting letters, digits, punctuation and spaces alike, so =LEN("Excel") gives 5.
Read the full explanation →Which out of the following is used as an electronic spread sheet?
- A.Microsoft Word
- B.Microsoft Power point
- C.Microsoft Excel
- D.Microsoft Access
Show answer
An electronic spreadsheet stores data in a grid of rows and columns and recalculates its formulas whenever a value changes, and Excel is the spreadsheet program of the Microsoft Office suite.
Read the full explanation →Which function key displays the Print Preview window in Microsoft Office?
- A.Alt + Ctrl + F2
- B.Alt + F2
- C.Shift + F2
- D.Ctrl + F2
Show answer
Ctrl together with F2 opens the print area of the Backstage view in Excel, Word and PowerPoint, where the page is shown exactly as it will be printed and the printer, copies, orientation and margins can be set.
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