Trouble Sorting Averages of Randomly Generated Numbers

G

GStrawley

Hello:

Please excuse me if I am missing something obvious, but I am stumped.

I have created a worksheet that contains two columns of 200 randoml
generated whole numbers from 0 to 5 each using the formul
=ROUND(5*RAND(),0). (These are meant to be grades in a hypothetica
class of students.) I have a third column containing the weighte
averages of the two grades.

When I try to sort the student records according to the averages i
descending order using Data:Sort, Excel fails to do a proper sort
Instead, I get what seems to be a bunch of randomly arranged records.
even tried adding a fourth column using the VALUE function thinking tha
the formulas were somehow throwing off the sort, but that didn't wor
either.

Can anybody point me in the right direction?

This isn't even supposed to be the hard stuff. I still need to wor
with this data in a Pivot Table!

Thanks,

Georg
 
N

NlCO

Every time Excel makes a calculation it will refresh the Rand formula
try pressing Delete and you will se what I'm talking about. No change
but the numbers changed.
What you'll have to do is paste the values to average the results.

Saludos

NlC
 
P

Paul Sheppard

GStrawley said:
Hello:

Please excuse me if I am missing something obvious, but I am stumped.

I have created a worksheet that contains two columns of 200 randoml
generated whole numbers from 0 to 5 each using the formul
=ROUND(5*RAND(),0). (These are meant to be grades in a hypothetica
class of students.) I have a third column containing the weighte
averages of the two grades.

When I try to sort the student records according to the averages i
descending order using Data:Sort, Excel fails to do a proper sort
Instead, I get what seems to be a bunch of randomly arranged records.
even tried adding a fourth column using the VALUE function thinking tha
the formulas were somehow throwing off the sort, but that didn't wor
either.

Can anybody point me in the right direction?

This isn't even supposed to be the hard stuff. I still need to wor
with this data in a Pivot Table!

Thanks,

George
Click to expand...

Hi George

Try copying the column of randomly generated numbers you want to sor
on and paste special values over the top, then sort
 
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