Brackets change the answer
60%
Excel works through a formula in a fixed order: brackets first, then powers, then multiplication and division, and only then addition and subtraction. It does not read left to right.
So =10+20+60/3 is not an average. Excel divides 60 by 3 first and then adds, giving 50. The mistake does not announce itself, 50 is a perfectly believable number, which is exactly what makes it dangerous.
In B6, work out the average of the three scores by adding them and dividing by 3. Use brackets so the addition happens first.
B6
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judge | Score | |||
| 2 | Judge A | 10 | |||
| 3 | Judge B | 20 | |||
| 4 | Judge C | 60 | |||
| 5 | |||||
| 6 | Average | ||||
| 7 | |||||
| 8 |
Click a cell and type. Enter commits, Tab moves right, F2 edits in place, Ctrl+Z undoes. Drag the small square at the corner of a cell to fill. Ctrl+Enter checks your answer.