WGU C268 Study Guide (Updated 2026/2027 Syllabus)
*Note: This guide follows the updated 2026/2027 syllabus for WGU's Spreadsheets
course (C268). The questions and answers are designed to illustrate key concepts in
spreadsheet applications, particularly Microsoft Excel. Each answer follows the requested
format.*
Section 1: Fundamentals and Navigation
1. What is the primary purpose of a spreadsheet application?
ANSWER ✓ To organize, calculate, analyze, and visualize numerical data efficiently.
2. Which keyboard shortcut opens the "Format Cells" dialog box in Excel?
ANSWER ✓ Ctrl+1
3. What is the intersection of a column and a row called?
ANSWER ✓ A cell
4. How do you make a cell reference absolute (e.g., column and row fixed)?
ANSWER ✓ Use a dollar sign before both column and row (e.g., $A$1)
5. Which ribbon tab contains tools for inserting charts?
ANSWER ✓ The "Insert" tab
6. What feature allows you to see the effect of changing input values on formula
results?
ANSWER ✓ What-If Analysis / Data Tables
7. How do you quickly autofill a formula down a column?
ANSWER ✓ Double-click the fill handle (small square at cell's bottom-right corner)
8. What does the function COUNTA() do?
ANSWER ✓ Counts all non-empty cells (text, numbers, errors, etc.) in a range.
, 9. Which function adds all numbers in a range that meet a single criterion?
ANSWER ✓ SUMIF()
10. What is the correct syntax for an IF function with a logical test, value if true,
and value if false?
ANSWER ✓ =IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false)
Section 2: Formulas and Functions
11. Write a formula to calculate the average of values in cells B2 through B10.
ANSWER ✓ =AVERAGE(B2:B10)
12. What function would you use to find the largest value in a range?
ANSWER ✓ MAX()
13. How do you combine text from two cells (A2 and B2) with a space between?
ANSWER ✓ =A2&" "&B2 or =CONCAT(A2," ",B2)
14. What does the VLOOKUP function do?
ANSWER ✓ Looks for a value in the leftmost column of a table and returns a value from
the same row in a specified column.
15. What is a key limitation of VLOOKUP?
ANSWER ✓ It can only look to the right; the lookup value must be in the first column of
the table array.
16. Write a formula to round the value in cell C5 to two decimal places.
ANSWER ✓ =ROUND(C5,2)
17. Which function extracts the month from a date in cell A1?
ANSWER ✓ =MONTH(A1)
18. What function counts cells that are not empty in a range?
*Note: This guide follows the updated 2026/2027 syllabus for WGU's Spreadsheets
course (C268). The questions and answers are designed to illustrate key concepts in
spreadsheet applications, particularly Microsoft Excel. Each answer follows the requested
format.*
Section 1: Fundamentals and Navigation
1. What is the primary purpose of a spreadsheet application?
ANSWER ✓ To organize, calculate, analyze, and visualize numerical data efficiently.
2. Which keyboard shortcut opens the "Format Cells" dialog box in Excel?
ANSWER ✓ Ctrl+1
3. What is the intersection of a column and a row called?
ANSWER ✓ A cell
4. How do you make a cell reference absolute (e.g., column and row fixed)?
ANSWER ✓ Use a dollar sign before both column and row (e.g., $A$1)
5. Which ribbon tab contains tools for inserting charts?
ANSWER ✓ The "Insert" tab
6. What feature allows you to see the effect of changing input values on formula
results?
ANSWER ✓ What-If Analysis / Data Tables
7. How do you quickly autofill a formula down a column?
ANSWER ✓ Double-click the fill handle (small square at cell's bottom-right corner)
8. What does the function COUNTA() do?
ANSWER ✓ Counts all non-empty cells (text, numbers, errors, etc.) in a range.
, 9. Which function adds all numbers in a range that meet a single criterion?
ANSWER ✓ SUMIF()
10. What is the correct syntax for an IF function with a logical test, value if true,
and value if false?
ANSWER ✓ =IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false)
Section 2: Formulas and Functions
11. Write a formula to calculate the average of values in cells B2 through B10.
ANSWER ✓ =AVERAGE(B2:B10)
12. What function would you use to find the largest value in a range?
ANSWER ✓ MAX()
13. How do you combine text from two cells (A2 and B2) with a space between?
ANSWER ✓ =A2&" "&B2 or =CONCAT(A2," ",B2)
14. What does the VLOOKUP function do?
ANSWER ✓ Looks for a value in the leftmost column of a table and returns a value from
the same row in a specified column.
15. What is a key limitation of VLOOKUP?
ANSWER ✓ It can only look to the right; the lookup value must be in the first column of
the table array.
16. Write a formula to round the value in cell C5 to two decimal places.
ANSWER ✓ =ROUND(C5,2)
17. Which function extracts the month from a date in cell A1?
ANSWER ✓ =MONTH(A1)
18. What function counts cells that are not empty in a range?
