Final answer:
In Excel, inserting a new cell or row shifts cell references and expands cell ranges to maintain accuracy in formulas. Deleting cells or rows also adjusts references, but can lead to reference errors (#REF!) if cells included in formulas are removed. Named ranges adjust dynamically when cells are inserted or deleted, helping prevent errors.
Step-by-step explanation:
When using Microsoft Excel, inserting or deleting cells can affect cell references and cell ranges within a worksheet. If you insert a cell or row near a cell reference, Excel will automatically update that reference to account for the new location. For example, if you have a formula =A1+B1 and you insert a new row above Row 1, the formula will change to =A2+B2 to still reference the correct cells. Similarly, for cell ranges, if you insert cells within the range =SUM(A1:A5) by adding a new row between A1 and A5, the range will automatically expand to =SUM(A1:A6).
Conversely, when you delete cells or rows, Excel removes the cells and adjusts any references accordingly. If a reference is removed entirely due to deletion, Excel replaces the former reference with #REF! which signifies a reference error. It is crucial to check your formulas after deleting cells to ensure no important data has been lost.
Handling Named Ranges
When working with named ranges, these ranges are dynamically adjusted when cells are inserted or deleted, which helps prevent reference errors that can occur with normal cell references. Overall, understanding this dynamic nature of cell references and cell ranges can help you to manage your data more efficiently in Excel.