What is meant in a spreadsheet by the term variable?

Answer 1

A variable is a symbol that stands for a value that may vary.

It only changes if you edit a value of something else

For example, in the formula "=CONVERT(A2,"C","F")" (Convert cell "A2" from degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit), "C" and "F" are variables with specific meanings. As second variable could also be "C" or "F", it's value varies.

Answer 2

A variable in Excel, and in computers generally, is some value that can change or does not have a fixed value. When you are doing things on a spreadsheet a lot of the values you are using can change. So if you are working out tax and have a spreadsheet to do it, the tax rate could change when next you use it. Prices of things change. Amounts of things you purchase change. Calculations in mathematics use variables all the time. That is why we use letters to represent values, like in equations. If you take the following example, x is a variable which could hold different values:

x²= x * x.

In a spreadsheet we use cell references in formulas instead of the actual numbers in the cells. That way formulas don't have to change when values in the cells change. So if you are using a spreadsheet that is using tax rates or amounts of things you purchase or prices, you don't need to change a formula when one of those things change. So if the cell B3 contains a price and cell C3 contains the amount of that thing that you have bought, then the following formula will work no matter what values you put in the cells, as the cell references act like variables:

=B3*C3

Answer 3

good job