Information Communication Technology ICT – 20 Spreadsheets | e-Consult
20 Spreadsheets (1 questions)
Relative cell referencing is the default type of cell reference. When a formula containing a relative reference is copied to another cell, the reference is automatically adjusted based on the new cell's position. For example, if cell A1 contains the value 10 and you enter the formula '=A1' in cell B1, then copy the formula to cell B2, the formula in B2 will automatically change to '=B2', referencing cell B2. This is useful when you want to perform calculations on cells that are in a consistent relationship to the current cell.
Absolute cell referencing uses dollar signs (\$) to fix the row and/or column of a cell reference. When the formula is copied to another cell, the absolute reference remains unchanged. For example, if cell A1 contains the value 10 and you enter the formula '=\$A$1' in cell B1, and then copy the formula to cell B2, the formula in B2 will still reference A1, even though it's in a different row. This is useful when you want to refer to a specific cell regardless of where the formula is copied.
Example Table:
| Relative Reference Example: | Formula in A1: =B1, Copied to A2: =B2 |
| Absolute Reference Example: | Formula in A1: =\$A\$1, Copied to A2: =\$A\$1 |