At their most basic, Excel formulas can perform basic math functions and display a solution. For example, the formula "=2+2" will display "4" in the cell.

For example, in the formula "=PRODUCT(A1,A3:A5,B1,10)" — Excel would multiply (A1 x A3 x A4 x A5 x B1 x 10) because A3:A5 indicates that it should multiply A3, A4, and A5.

Excel has over 475 formulas in its Functions Library, but we've selected the most popular, from date and time functions to mathematics and simple data manipulation.