Question

An analyst is cleaning a new dataset containing 500 rows. They want to make sure the data contained from cell B2 through cell B300 does not contain a number greater than 50. Which of the following COUNTIF function syntaxes could be used to answer this question? Select all that apply.

A. =COUNTIF(B2:B300,>50)
B. =COUNTIF(B2:B300,"<=50")
C. =COUNTIF(B2:B300,<=50)
D. =COUNTIF(B2:B300,">50")

Answer 1

To ensure data in cells B2 through B300 doesn't contain numbers greater than 50, the correct COUNTIF function syntaxes would be '=COUNTIF(B2:B300,">50")'. Options B and C are incorrect because either the logic is inverted or the syntax is incorrect.

Step-by-step explanation:

To check whether the data in cells from B2 through B300 in the dataset does not contain a number greater than 50 using the COUNTIF function in Excel, you can use the following function syntax:

A. =COUNTIF(B2:B300,">50")

This formula will count the number of cells within the specified range that contain a number greater than 50. Option B is incorrect because it looks for numbers that are less than or equal to 50, which is the opposite of what was requested. Option C is syntactically incorrect because Excel formulas require the criteria to be in quotes when using comparison operators. Therefore, option D is also correct, as it is similar to option A and properly formatted with the criteria in quotes.