Multiplication Table Challenge Solution
The Challenge
In the last blog post I set a challenge for you.
Create a table similar to the one below, in cell B2, create a formula that can be copied to all other cells in the table. The result of this will be a multiplication table.
The Solution
The solution in theory is very simple, multiply the numbers in row 1 by the numbers in column A. The formula in B2 would then be =A2*B1
which works, but if you copy this formula to a few more cells you can see it goes wrong.
3 times 2 is not 24 (even I know that!).
Our formula is a relative formula.
If you copy it 2 columns to the right of the original, the column letter increases by 2. If you copy the formula down 2 rows the row number increases by 2.
So, the formula in C4 is =B4*C3 which is 6*4=24.
We will need to use a mixed reference formula.
We want to multiply row 1 every time by column A, so we will make this part of the formula absolute, this is done by adding a dollar sign $ before the column letter or row number so that they don’t change when the formula is copied to other cells.
The solution to the problem is =$A2*B$1 and we can copy that formula across rest of the cells.
Now when you copy the formula, it will always reference column A and row 1, but the other half of each cell name will still be relative.
Did you get it yourself?
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