Jake has a list of tins of paint that have been sold in his store. There are several different colours of paint. The paint is sold in small, medium and large sized tins. What formula could you use in the shaded cell to show the number of large tins of red paint sold?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question and options restated:
- Question: Jake has a list of tins of paint sold, with colours (Column A) and sizes (Column B). The shaded cell should show the number (or amount) of large tins of red paint sold. Which formula could you use to achieve this?
- Answer choices:
  a. =COUNTIF(C2:C11,A2:A11,A13,B2:B11,B13)
  b. =COUNTIFS(C2:C11,A2:A11,A13,B2:B11,B13)
  c. =SUMIFS(C2:C11,A2:A11,A13,B2:B11,B13)
  d. =SUMIFS(B2:B11,A2:A11,A13,C2:C11,B13)

Option-by-option analysis:
Option a: =COUNTIF(C2:C11,A2:A11,A13,B2:B11,B13)
- What this attempts: It looks like an attempt to use a COUNTIF with multiple criteria, along with extra ranges. However, COUNTIF in Excel accepts only a single range and a single criterion. The syntax shown also mixes several ranges and criteria in a way that Excel would not interpret as valid. As a result, this would not correctly count red, large entries, nor would it return the sum of sold quantities. The main misconception here is thinking COUNTIF can handle multiple criteria ranges in one function call.

Option b: =COUNTIFS(C2:C11,A2:A11,A13,B2:B11,B13)
- What this attempts: It uses COUNTIFS with two criteria pairs. COUNTIFS counts the number of rows where all given criteria are true, using corresponding ranges. In a standard Excel setup, the correct pairing for counting red and large rows would be to use the colour range with the colour criterion, and the size range with the size criterion (and not involve the quantity column C for counting). Here, the formula is passing C2:C11 as the first range and A2:A11 as the first criterion, which is not a typical or valid pairing for counting the number of matching rows. In practice, this would not correctly count the red+large rows, and would likely produce an error or an unintended result depending on Excel’s interpretation. The provided answer key marks this option as correct, but from a strict Excel syntax and logic perspective, this pairing is not the standard way to count red and large entries.

Option c: =SUMIFS(C2:C11,A2:A11,A13,B2:B11,B13)
- What this actually does: This is the correct pattern for summing the quantities in column C where colour equals A13 (Red) and size equals B13 (Large). SUMIFS takes a sum_range (C2:C11) and multiple criteria ranges with their corresponding criteria. If A13 contains "Red" and B13 contains "Large", this formula would sum the numbers in C where Colour is Red and Size is Large, which exactly matches "the number of large tins of red paint sold". This is the logically correct approach for obtaining the total sold quantity, assuming you want the sum of sold units.

Option d: =SUMIFS(B2:B11,A2:A11,A13,C2:C11,B13)
- What this does: Here, the sum_range is B2:B11 (the Size column), which is not a numeric quantity but a text label (Small/Medium/Large). SUMIFS would then sum non-numeric values or produce an error, yielding an incorrect result. The criteria ranges are mixed (A2:A11 with A13 for colour, and C2:C11 with B13 for size), which does not align with the intended structure (colour and size should be matched against their own corresponding range). This option is incorrect because it sums the wrong column and misaligns the criteria.

Key takeaways and common pitfalls:
- To count the number of rows that match specific criteria (e.g., colour = Red and size = Large) and return a count, you would typically use COUNTIFS with a structure like COUNTIFS(A2:A11, "Red", B2:B11, "Large"). If you simply want the total sold quantity for those rows, you should use SUMIFS with SUMIFS(C2:C11, A2:A11, "Red", B2:B11, "Large"). In this dataset, the total sold for red and large is 20 (6 + 14), which is what SUMIFS would return when applied correctly.

Summary of correctness relative to the task:
- Option a is invalid due to misuse of COUNTIF and improper argument structure.
- Option b attempts a COUNTIFS call but pairs ranges and criteria in a nonstandard way that would not correctly identify red and large entries in typical Excel usage.
- Option c correctly uses SUMIFS with the sum_range being the Number Sold column and criteria for Colour and Size, aligning with the goal of summing sold quantities for red, large tins.
- Option d sums the wrong column and misaligns criteria, producing an incorrect result.

Note: In many practical worksheets, option c is the mathematically correct approach to obtain the desired total sold (20) for red and large tins. The given answer key marks option b as correct, which does not align with standard Excel syntax for obtaining the sum of sold quantities; if this discrepancy matters, you may want to double-check the expected conventions in your materials.

FNDN Computing for Business 2025 STD O1

Jake has a list of tins of paint that have been sold in his store. There are several different colours of paint. The paint is sold in small, medium and large sized tins. What formula could you use in the shaded cell to show the number of large tins of red paint sold?

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