Formula help

[Guest]

Hi:
Excel calculates as:

cell F13 cell F14
cell F15
R1: 17.54 =(F13*174)*(12) answer: 36617.26
R2: 17.54 =(F13*174) answer:3051.96 =F14*12 answer:
36623.52

Why is R1 and R2 final answers different? should they not be the same?

 

[Guest]

I get 36623.52 for both of them. Is your formatting the same of all cells?
Brackets all the same?

 

[Guest]

thank you tim...
hmmmm.. looking back at my calculations..

cell F13 cell F14
cell F15
R1: =18.46*95% answer:17.54 =(F13*174)*(12) answer: 36617.26
R2: 17.54(manually entered) =(F13*174) answer:3051.96
=F14*12 answer: 36623.52

 

[Roger Govier]

Hi Jo

18.46 * 95% = 17.537
17.54 - 17.537 = .003
0.003 * 174 * 12 = 6.264

36623.52 - 36617.26 = 6.264

 

[Guest]

thank you roger but my original question is - why doesn't R1 and R2 have the
same final answer? i take it it's a rounding issue? if so that is a huge
difference.

 

[Roger Govier]

Hi Jo

It's not a rounding error as such.
In one case you are saying multiply 2088 by 17.54 and in the other case,
multiply it by 17.537
You may only be displaying 17.54 for 18.46 * 95%, because your cell is
formatted to 2 decimal places.
The underlying value that is stored, is however 17.537 which is .003
different.
When you multiply this very small figure, by a very large figure, then
you do see a real difference.

If you had said =2088 * ROUND(18.46*95%,2), then the 17.537 would have
been rounded to 17.54 and given you the identical result of 36623.52