State the match rule before interpreting the returned value.
Practise IF boundaries, COUNTIF, SUMIF, exact VLOOKUP, INDEX with MATCH and a genuinely missing key.
Your count is the number of matching keys among six selected questions in this edition. It is not an Excel level, job threshold, certificate or percentile. Every answer, explanation and complete guide is available at every count.
Six questions about decisions and retrieval
This section distinguishes testing a condition, counting records, adding quantities and retrieving a matching value. Its examples use explicit small ranges and English function names. Exact-match lookups are stated with FALSE or MATCH’s zero argument; no approximate-match rule is assumed. Each question has one answer under its supplied facts. The six-item count covers these selected operations, without establishing database competence, advanced Excel status or whether you could safely automate a real business process.
Evaluate the equality boundary explicitly
For an unscored example, a cell contains 9 and the condition is >=9. The condition is true because the equality is included; changing it to >9 makes it false for that same input. Write a tiny three-row check with 8, 9 and 10 before building an IF expression. This makes the boundary visible. The labels you return are your chosen text, not Excel’s judgement that a person, order or application deserves one outcome.
Count records or sum their quantities
Suppose fictional rows are Copper/2, Silver/6 and Copper/5. COUNTIF on the label column for Copper gives two matching cells. SUMIF using that label range and the numeric quantity range gives seven. The range tested and the range added serve different roles even when their row alignment is the same. Before selecting a formula, write the requested unit: records or units of quantity. A plausible number is insufficient if it answers a different question.
Trace an exact lookup through the supplied range
With VLOOKUP, identify the first column of the supplied table, find the exact key there and then count the requested return column within that table. With INDEX and MATCH, work out MATCH’s relative position and use that position in INDEX’s supplied range. Do not replace a relative position with an absolute worksheet row number. Unique keys simplify these practice tasks; duplicate identifiers in a real table require a defined policy rather than guessing which record a formula should represent.
Treat a missing result as something to investigate
An exact lookup for an absent key returns #N/A under these tasks. That is different from a valid stored zero or an intentionally blank text value. On a small invented table, compare a genuinely absent key with a present key containing an ordinary space difference. Inspect types and characters before wrapping the lookup in IFERROR. Replacing every error with zero can erase a distinction your downstream calculation needs, so decide how missing data should be represented explicitly.
Build a new miniature lookup and explain it
Make a disposable four-record table with unique invented codes and numeric quantities. Predict one present-key result, one missing-key result and one condition exactly on a threshold. Then change a single key or quantity and predict again before checking in your installed Excel. Describe which range was searched and which value was returned. This is a suggested revision exercise, without a measured learning rate; use no private customer records, account identifiers or production prices.
Keep the count separate from a hiring verdict
All six explanations and this complete guide remain available at zero, partial and perfect counts. The bank does not supply beginner-to-expert cutoffs, a percentile, a hiring recommendation or a certificate. Recognition among four options differs from constructing a robust workbook with messy data. Repeated exposure and checking aids can affect the result. Microsoft references document selected functions; the questions, invented records, distractors and revision text are FermatMind’s original material.