Understanding the ROUND function in Excel
The ROUND function in Excel is used to round numbers to a specified number of
decimal places. It takes two arguments: the number you want to round and the number
of decimal places you want to round to. For example, if you have a number 3.145 and
you want to round it to two decimal places, you would use the formula =ROUND(3.145,
2) which would return the result 3.15. The ROUND function follows a simple rule: if the
digit to the right of the rounding digit is 5 or more, the rounding digit increases by 1; if it
is less than 5, the rounding digit remains the same.
It is important to note that the ROUND function in Excel can also be used to round
numbers to a specified multiple. This is done by providing a negative value for the
number of decimal places argument. For example, if you have a number 123 and you
want to round it to the nearest multiple of 10, you would use the formula =ROUND(123,
-1) which would return the result 120. In this case, the rounding digit is the tens digit,
and the digit to the right of it is 2, which is less than 5, so the rounding digit remains the
same.
How to use the ROUND formula in Excel
To use the ROUND formula in Excel, you need to select the cell where you want the
rounded result to appear and enter the formula =ROUND(number, num_digits). Replace
"number" with the actual number you want to round and "num_digits" with the desired
number of decimal places. For example, if you have a number in cell A1 and you want
to round it to two decimal places, you would enter =ROUND(A1, 2) in the desired cell.
This will give you the rounded result.
Exploring the syntax of the ROUND function
The syntax of the ROUND function in Excel is straightforward. It follows the pattern
=ROUND(number, num_digits). The "number" argument can be any numeric value or a
cell reference containing a numeric value. The "num_digits" argument is an optional
argument that specifies the number of decimal places to round to. If omitted, it defaults
to 0, which means rounding to the nearest whole number.
Common applications of the ROUND formula in Excel
The ROUND formula in Excel has a wide range of applications across various industries
and functions. Some common use cases include:
- Financial modeling: In financial modeling, it is often necessary to round numbers to
specific decimal places to present accurate calculations and financial statements. The
ROUND formula is especially useful in rounding monetary values, percentages, and
interest rates.
- Statistical analysis: When working with large datasets, rounding numbers can help
simplify the data analysis process. The ROUND formula is often used to round
statistical values such as mean, median, and standard deviation.
- Data visualization: Rounding numbers in charts and graphs can enhance clarity and
readability. By rounding data points, you can eliminate unnecessary decimal places and
present the information in a more visually appealing format.
- Pricing and cost calculations: In pricing and cost calculations, it is important to round
numbers to the appropriate decimal places to ensure accurate pricing and costing
decisions. The ROUND formula is commonly used in retail, manufacturing, and service
industries for this purpose.
Excel RANK function
The RANK function in Excel returns the order (or rank) of a numeric value compared to
other values in the same list. In other words, it tells you which value is the highest, the
second highest, etc.
In a sorted list, the rank of a certain number would be its position. The RANK function in
Excel can determine the rank starting with the largest value (as if sorted in descending
order) or the smallest value (as if sorted in ascending order).
The syntax of the Excel RANK function is as follows:
RANK(number,ref,[order])
Where:
Number (required) - the value whose rank you'd like to find.
Ref (required) - a list of numeric values to rank against. It can be supplied as an array of
numbers or a reference to the list of numbers.
Order (optional) - a number that specifies how to rank values:


If 0 or omitted, the values are ranked in descending order, i.e. from largest to smallest.
If 1 or any other non-zero value, the values are ranked in ascending order, i.e. from smallest to
largest.
Excel RANK.EQ function
RANK.EQ is an improved version of the RANK function, introduced in Excel 2010. It has
the same syntax as RANK and works with the same logic: if several values are ranked
equally, the highest rank is assigned to all such values. (EQ stands for "equal").
RANK.EQ(number,ref,[order])
In Excel 2007 and lower versions, you should always use the RANK function. In Excel
2010, Excel 2013, and Excel 2016, you can go with either RANK or RANK.EQ.
However, it'd be wise to use RANK.EQ because RANK can be discontinued at any
moment.
Excel RANK.AVG function
RANK.AVG is another function to find rank in Excel that is available only in Excel 2010,
Excel 2013, Excel 2016 and later.
It has the same syntax as the other two functions:
RANK.AVG(number,ref,[order])
The difference is that if more than one number has the same rank, the average rank is
returned (AVG stands for "average").
4 things you should know about RANK in Excel
1. Any Rank formula in Excel works only for numeric values: positive and negative numbers,
zeros, date and time values. Non-numeric values in the ref argument are ignored.
2. All RANK functions return the same rank for duplicate values, and skip subsequent ranking,
as shown in the example below.
3. In Excel 2010 and later versions, the RANK function has been replaced with RANK.EQ and
RANK.AVG. For backward compatibility, RANK still works in all versions of Excel, but it may
not be available in the future.
4. If number is not found within ref, any Excel Rank function would return the #N/A error.
How to rank in Excel from lowest to highest
As shown in the above example, to rank numbers from highest to lowest, you use one
of the Excel Rank formulas with the order argument set to 0 or omitted (default).
To have number ranked against other numbers sorted in ascending order, put 1 or any
other non-zero value in the optional third argument.
For example, to rank the 100-meter sprint times of the students, you can use either of
the below formulas:
=RANK(B2,$B$2:$B$7,1)
=RANK.EQ(B2,$B$2:$B$7,1)
Please pay attention that we lock the range in the ref argument by using absolute cell
references, so that it won't change when we copy the formula down the column.