need help with formula

M

mike

when i do a =(a1/a2)*a3--- the answer is not correct...... i am doing
numbers like 1531.23 / 12700.45 * 7034.54----- it is not giving me the same
answer as a calculator.. ????????????????? why
 
D

Dave F

What value are you expecting to get?
=A1/A2*A3 resolves to the same value as =(A1/A2)*A3. Using your numbers, I
get 848.1195 either way.

Dave
 
D

David Biddulph

What answer are you getting?
Are the figures in the 3 cells exactly as you've given them, or are they the
results of some formula and the values you've quoted perhaps the result of
some rounded display approximation to what is actually in the cell? Have
you tried formatting A1:A3 to more than 2 decimal places to see a better
approximation to what is really there?

Note also that the sort of numbers that you've quoted can't be represented
exactly in fixed point binary, so your answer will be an approximation
anyway (nominally to 15 figure accuracy).
 
M

Mike S.

If you want a result of 1.7139005e-5, then your formula is =a1/(a2*a3).
Excel's default sort order is the same as standard mathematics: parenthesis,
powers, multiply/divide, add/subtract.
 
J

Jerry W. Lewis

Note also that formatting does not change the underlying values, so if you
are using cell references to the results of formulas instead of explicitly
entered constants 1531.23, 12700.45, and 7034.54, then the result might be
anywhere between 848.1157 and 848.1232 depending on what is in the 3rd+
decimal places of these numbers.

Jerry
 
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