Excel Formulas and Data Analysis Course 2026

This course is for people who know basic Excel (SUM, simple IF and cell references) and want to analyze data at work. It covers logical formulas, conditional totals, lookups, text and date functions, conditional formatting, data validation, duplicates, PivotTables and charts. Study each lesson and try its practical exercise and topic quiz, then take the timed final assessment. Score 80% or more to earn a certificate of completion.

Course
Canada
96 questions
Checked October 13, 2026
Fact-checked October 13, 2026

Quick answer

This free course has about 240 minutes of lessons, 6 untimed topic quizzes (96 questions in all) and a timed final assessment of 35 questions drawn at random. Score 80% or more on the final assessment to download a certificate of completion (private, not accredited). Checked against official sources on October 13, 2026.

Start with the lessonsExcel Formulas and Data Analysis Course: Lessons: about 240 minutes of reading. Every test question is covered in the lessons.

What you will learn

Make decisions in formulas with IF, IFS, AND, OR and NOT
Add, count and average data that meets several conditions with SUMIFS, COUNTIFS and AVERAGEIFS
Look up values with XLOOKUP, VLOOKUP and INDEX/MATCH, and handle missing values with IFERROR and IFNA
Split, clean and join text, and calculate with dates and working days
Highlight data with conditional formatting, control entries with data validation and remove duplicates safely
Summarize data with PivotTables and choose charts that answer a business question

Score 80% or more to download your certificate.

Your study plan

Read each lesson, take its topic quiz (untimed, with explanations), then the timed final assessment. A new mix of questions is drawn every time. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Topic quiz 1: Logical formulas: IF, IFS, AND and OR

Question 1 of 15
What does =AND(5>3, 2>4) return?
- #VALUE!
- FALSE
- 0
- TRUE
Show answer
Answer: B. FALSE
AND returns TRUE only when every test is TRUE. 2>4 is FALSE, so the result is FALSE.
Question 2 of 15
What does =OR(5>8, 3<4) return?
- #N/A
- FALSE
- 1
- TRUE
Show answer
Answer: D. TRUE
OR returns TRUE when at least one test is TRUE. 3<4 is TRUE, so the result is TRUE.
Question 3 of 15
In the sheet below, what does =NOT(D3="South") return?
A B C D
1 Name Sales Accounts Region
2 Ana 52000 14 North
3 Ben 47500 22 South
4 Chloé 61000 9 North
5 Dev 39000 18 East
6 Eli 58000 25 South
7 Fatima 45000 11 East
- Ben
- FALSE
- South
- TRUE
Show answer
Answer: B. FALSE
D3 holds South, so D3="South" is TRUE. NOT reverses it, so the result is FALSE.
Question 4 of 15
In the sheet below, E2 contains =IF(AND(B2>=50000,C2>=12),"Bonus","No bonus") and is copied down to E7. How many cells show "Bonus"?
A B C D
1 Name Sales Accounts Region
2 Ana 52000 14 North
3 Ben 47500 22 South
4 Chloé 61000 9 North
5 Dev 39000 18 East
6 Eli 58000 25 South
7 Fatima 45000 11 East
- 1
- 2
- 4
- 3
Show answer
Answer: B. 2
Both tests must be TRUE. Only Ana (52,000 and 14) and Eli (58,000 and 25) pass both.
Question 5 of 15
In the sheet below, E2 contains =IF(OR(B2>=50000,C2>=20),"Bonus","No bonus") and is copied down to E7. How many cells show "Bonus"?
A B C D
1 Name Sales Accounts Region
2 Ana 52000 14 North
3 Ben 47500 22 South
4 Chloé 61000 9 North
5 Dev 39000 18 East
6 Eli 58000 25 South
7 Fatima 45000 11 East
- 2
- 5
- 4
- 3
Show answer
Answer: C. 4
OR needs just one TRUE test. Ana, Chloé and Eli pass on sales, and Ben passes on accounts (22), so 4 people get "Bonus".
Question 6 of 15
What must you put around text such as North when you use it inside a formula like =IF(D2="North","Yes","No")?
- Parentheses
- Double quotation marks
- Single quotation marks
- Square brackets
Show answer
Answer: B. Double quotation marks
Text in a formula goes inside double quotation marks. Without them, Excel tries to read the word as a name and usually shows #NAME?.
Question 7 of 15
How many conditions can you test in one IFS function?
- 127
- 255
- 7
- 64
Show answer
Answer: A. 127
Microsoft says IFS can test up to 127 different conditions. (AND and OR can each take up to 255.)
Question 8 of 15
In the sheet below, what does =IFS(B5>=60000,"Gold",B5>=50000,"Silver") return?
A B C D
1 Name Sales Accounts Region
2 Ana 52000 14 North
3 Ben 47500 22 South
4 Chloé 61000 9 North
5 Dev 39000 18 East
6 Eli 58000 25 South
7 Fatima 45000 11 East
- 0
- FALSE
- #N/A
- Silver
Show answer
Answer: C. #N/A
Dev's sales (39,000) make neither test TRUE. When no condition in IFS is TRUE, it returns the #N/A error.
Question 9 of 15
You want IFS to return "Bronze" when none of the earlier tests are TRUE. What do you put as the last test?
- TRUE
- "Else"
- An empty pair of quotation marks
- FALSE
Show answer
Answer: A. TRUE
To give IFS a default result, enter TRUE as the final logical test and the default value after it.
Question 10 of 15
In the sheet below, E2 contains =IFS(B2>=60000,"Gold",B2>=50000,"Silver",TRUE,"Bronze") and is copied down. What does E6 show?
A B C D
1 Name Sales Accounts Region
2 Ana 52000 14 North
3 Ben 47500 22 South
4 Chloé 61000 9 North
5 Dev 39000 18 East
6 Eli 58000 25 South
7 Fatima 45000 11 East
- Bronze
- Gold
- Silver
- #N/A
Show answer
Answer: C. Silver
E6 checks Eli's 58,000. It is not 60,000 or more, but it is 50,000 or more, so IFS stops at "Silver".
Question 11 of 15
In the sheet below, E4 contains =IF(B4>=50000,"Silver",IF(B4>=60000,"Gold","Bronze")). What does it show for Chloé?
A B C D
1 Name Sales Accounts Region
2 Ana 52000 14 North
3 Ben 47500 22 South
4 Chloé 61000 9 North
5 Dev 39000 18 East
6 Eli 58000 25 South
7 Fatima 45000 11 East
- Gold
- Bronze
- FALSE
- Silver
Show answer
Answer: D. Silver
IF stops at the first TRUE test. 61,000 is already 50,000 or more, so "Silver" is returned and the Gold test is never reached. Put the highest tier first.
Question 12 of 15
In the sheet below, E2 contains =IF(NOT(OR(D2="North",D2="South")),"Check","OK") and is copied down to E7. How many cells show "Check"?
A B C D
1 Name Sales Accounts Region
2 Ana 52000 14 North
3 Ben 47500 22 South
4 Chloé 61000 9 North
5 Dev 39000 18 East
6 Eli 58000 25 South
7 Fatima 45000 11 East
- 2
- 4
- 6
- 0
Show answer
Answer: A. 2
OR is TRUE for North or South, and NOT flips it. Only the two East rows (Dev and Fatima) give "Check".
Question 13 of 15
In the timesheet below, D2 contains =IF(B2>40,(B2-40)*C2*1.5,0). What does D2 show?
A B C
1 Name Hours Rate
2 Gus 44 22
3 Hana 38 24
4 Ivan 40 21
- 968
- 88
- 0
- 132
Show answer
Answer: D. 132
Gus worked 44 hours, which is more than 40. Overtime pay is (44-40) x 22 x 1.5 = 132.
Question 14 of 15
In the timesheet below, D4 contains =IF(B4>40,(B4-40)*C4*1.5,0). What does D4 show?
A B C
1 Name Hours Rate
2 Gus 44 22
3 Hana 38 24
4 Ivan 40 21
- 31.5
- 21
- 0
- 1260
Show answer
Answer: C. 0
Ivan worked exactly 40 hours. 40>40 is FALSE (> means strictly greater), so IF returns the value_if_false, 0.
Question 15 of 15
In the sheet below, E3 contains =IF(C3>=20,IF(B3>=50000,"A","B"),"C"). What does E3 show?
A B C D
1 Name Sales Accounts Region
2 Ana 52000 14 North
3 Ben 47500 22 South
4 Chloé 61000 9 North
5 Dev 39000 18 East
6 Eli 58000 25 South
7 Fatima 45000 11 East
- B
- FALSE
- A
- C
Show answer
Answer: A. B
Ben has 22 accounts, so the outer test is TRUE and Excel checks the inner IF. His sales (47,500) are under 50,000, so it returns "B".

	A	B	C	D
1	Name	Sales	Accounts	Region
2	Ana	52000	14	North
3	Ben	47500	22	South
4	Chloé	61000	9	North
5	Dev	39000	18	East
6	Eli	58000	25	South
7	Fatima	45000	11	East

	A	B	C	D
1	Name	Sales	Accounts	Region
2	Ana	52000	14	North
3	Ben	47500	22	South
4	Chloé	61000	9	North
5	Dev	39000	18	East
6	Eli	58000	25	South
7	Fatima	45000	11	East

	A	B	C	D
1	Name	Sales	Accounts	Region
2	Ana	52000	14	North
3	Ben	47500	22	South
4	Chloé	61000	9	North
5	Dev	39000	18	East
6	Eli	58000	25	South
7	Fatima	45000	11	East

	A	B	C	D
1	Name	Sales	Accounts	Region
2	Ana	52000	14	North
3	Ben	47500	22	South
4	Chloé	61000	9	North
5	Dev	39000	18	East
6	Eli	58000	25	South
7	Fatima	45000	11	East

	A	B	C	D
1	Name	Sales	Accounts	Region
2	Ana	52000	14	North
3	Ben	47500	22	South
4	Chloé	61000	9	North
5	Dev	39000	18	East
6	Eli	58000	25	South
7	Fatima	45000	11	East

	A	B	C	D
1	Name	Sales	Accounts	Region
2	Ana	52000	14	North
3	Ben	47500	22	South
4	Chloé	61000	9	North
5	Dev	39000	18	East
6	Eli	58000	25	South
7	Fatima	45000	11	East

	A	B	C	D
1	Name	Sales	Accounts	Region
2	Ana	52000	14	North
3	Ben	47500	22	South
4	Chloé	61000	9	North
5	Dev	39000	18	East
6	Eli	58000	25	South
7	Fatima	45000	11	East

	A	B	C
1	Name	Hours	Rate
2	Gus	44	22
3	Hana	38	24
4	Ivan	40	21

	A	B	C
1	Name	Hours	Rate
2	Gus	44	22
3	Hana	38	24
4	Ivan	40	21

	A	B	C	D
1	Name	Sales	Accounts	Region
2	Ana	52000	14	North
3	Ben	47500	22	South
4	Chloé	61000	9	North
5	Dev	39000	18	East
6	Eli	58000	25	South
7	Fatima	45000	11	East

What to know before the test

IFS can test up to 127 conditions. If none is TRUE it returns #N/A, so enter TRUE as the last test to give a default result.
In SUMIFS the range to add comes first, but in SUMIF it comes third. SUMIFS accepts up to 127 range/criteria pairs.
XLOOKUP uses an exact match by default and can return a value from a column on either side. VLOOKUP only looks from left to right.
IFERROR catches the #N/A, #VALUE!, #REF!, #DIV/0!, #NUM!, #NAME? and #NULL! errors.
Excel stores dates as serial numbers so they can be used in calculations. January 1, 1900 is serial number 1.
Data validation shows messages and blocks invalid entries only when people type in a cell. Copied or filled data can get past it.
Remove Duplicates deletes data permanently, so Microsoft suggests copying the original data to another worksheet first.
In a PivotTable, Count is the default summary for value fields that have text or blank cells; Sum is the default for numbers.

Frequently asked questions

What certificate do I get, and what is it not?

If you score 80% or more on the final assessment, you can download a certificate of completion for this course. It shows you finished a general skills course. It is not an accredited qualification, not a Microsoft certification such as Microsoft Office Specialist, and not an employer or government certification.

Should I take the Excel for beginners course first?

If you are new to formulas, yes. This course assumes you can already use SUM, AVERAGE, COUNTIF, a simple IF and absolute references ($A$1).

Which version of Excel do I need?

The lessons describe Excel for Microsoft 365. XLOOKUP needs Excel for Microsoft 365 or Excel 2021 and later; it is not in Excel 2016 or 2019. IFS and TEXTJOIN need Excel 2019 or later. In older versions, use VLOOKUP or INDEX and MATCH, and nested IF.

How does the final assessment work?

It has 35 questions picked at random from the course question bank, and you have 35 minutes. Many questions show a small spreadsheet and ask what a formula returns. You get a new mix each time.

Can I practise with my own work files?

Use the practice sheets in the lessons. If you use real work data, follow your employer's policies and privacy rules, and work on a copy so you do not change the original.

Is the certificate accredited or officially recognised?

No. It is a private certificate of completion for knowledge only. It is not recognised, accredited or approved by any government, licensing body, regulator or educational institution, and it does not replace any licence, certification or training required by law.