What is the benefit of using formula functions on a spreadsheet rather than just simply entering the answer?

Answer 1

Excel is far more powerful than a calculator. There are a huge amount of things it can do that a calculator cannot do, far too many to mention. At a very simple level, for doing basic calculations Excel is far better. With a calculator, you can only see one number at a time. If you have a lot of figures to add, you won't be able to see them all, like you can with a spreadsheet. So it is far easier to see what you are doing and to spot any errors. You can use the same figures to do lots of calculations, and not have to type them in over and over again. Excel provides a wide range of built-in functions to use, that a calculator can't do. So there is no real comparison. Excel is a far better calculator than the Calculator on your computer is. Unless you are doing an extremely basic calculation, like adding two numbers, it is much better to use Excel.

Answer 2

By using formulas and cell references it makes the spreadsheet more flexible. You can put in new values and the spreadsheet will be up to date. The formulas, if written correctly, will always keep the correct results. If you were doing that manually you could make a mistake. The whole point of using Excel is to use the facility of it being able to do calculations for you, rather than doing them yourself. See the related questions below.

Answer 3

There are many reasons. Often you don't know the answer, which is why you are using the spreadsheet. A lot of the calculations you want to do are complex, but functions have been designed to specifically do them. People can also make errors when doing calculations. A spreadsheet keeps answers up to date when some of the values change, saving the user the need to work out all their answers again. A spreadsheet can do things a lot faster than a person. They can deal with very large amounts of figures. For these and many other reasons, it is better to use the facilities of the spreadsheet, rather than manually doing things.

Answer 4

Because the whole idea of an electronic spreadsheet is to be able to do things automatically by having formulas to work out calculations rather than you doing them manually. If you do them manually it will take you a lot longer. Formulas can also be copied, so you can do many groups of calculations with lots of formulas all copied from one formula. If you have no formulas you will make more mistakes and you would be doing the calculations yourself so it would be nearly as simple to just use paper. A spreadsheet can do it all faster and more efficiently and more accurately, so they are better to use.