Build, trace and repair connected formulas
Follow original inputs across worksheets, names and reports, then prove a repair on changed source populations.
Start with cell addresses and ordinary formulas. Thirteen original steps connect literal lookups, conditions, monthly and worksheet spans, cell-selected local sources, staged text cleanup, scoped/dynamic names and actual formula faults. Move freely between steps; save only a checked current attempt.
0 of 13 historical passing attempts saved on this device.
Step 1
Look up a literal identifier across worksheets →
A question mark or star can belong to an identifier. Exact matching preserves those characters, the first matching source record and numeric zero.
Before this step: Read a cell address and distinguish text from numbers.
Step 2
Keep both conditions and signed records →
Region and status select a population together. Refunds reduce the sum; numeric zero still counts as a record.
Before this step: Complete the literal-lookup exercise.
Step 3
Combine two monthly source populations →
A combined total uses the selected original transactions from each month. It does not average the two monthly totals.
Before this step: Complete the two-condition summary.
Step 4
Let a source-name cell select the worksheet →
INDIRECT turns a local reference string into a range. Report B2 chooses the source; a quoted worksheet name doubles any embedded apostrophe. A zero net can still come from several matching records.
Before this step: Read fixed cross-sheet references and distinguish the visible tab from formula inputs.
Step 5
Change the worksheet population of a 3-D reference →
A worksheet span includes both endpoint tabs and every tab between them. Moving a tab inside changes the population even when the written reference stays the same.
Before this step: Know the difference between a worksheet count and a numeric cell count.
Step 6
Repair text in declared stages →
Normalize declared whitespace before later replacements. A selected occurrence and a character position express different edits; source IDs and notes remain original.
Before this step: Read a text value separately from its display.
Step 7
Reuse a source-bound named calculation →
A named constant and a name linked to an input have different roles. The reusable formula and LAMBDA must both respond to the actual source-bound factor.
Before this step: Know how a formula reads another worksheet.
Step 8
Resolve the same name in different worksheets →
A local Rate belongs to a worksheet. An unqualified call uses the formula worksheet; a qualified call explicitly selects another worksheet’s Rate.
Before this step: Complete the reusable-name exercise.
Step 9
Move a named range endpoint with an input →
An INDEX endpoint declares the first EntryCount source records. Count, sum and mean must use that same population, including zero and signed refunds.
Before this step: Distinguish a numeric zero from a blank.
Step 10
Repair four faults against a zero-unit population →
A source-linked repair must handle a different population. Signed quantities can cancel while their net amount remains nonzero; this report explicitly defines net per unit as zero in that case.
Before this step: Understand exact lookup and both report conditions.
Step 11
Remove a line’s direct self-reference →
A line cannot establish its independent amount by adding its own result. Follow the written closed path, then restore the line’s own quantity and price.
Before this step: Read a formula as links to the cells it uses.
Step 12
Exclude the total cell from its own population →
A total that includes itself is circular. The source Amount column is the intended population; report units, counts and rates are different measures.
Before this step: Complete the direct self-reference repair.
Step 13
Capstone: break feedback and define missing input behavior →
Source facts feed the report, so a source Amount must not read the net report it helps produce. An unlisted zone separately exercises the exact-lookup fallback and zero-unit policy.
Before this step: Complete the preceding source, name and repair projects.
Saved records contain unit, version, check/scenario counts and date only. They do not restore worksheet data or certify mastery. Native Excel rendering, recalculation and edit/save require separate checks.