How to Find the Range of a Data Set in Microsoft Excel

If you use Microsoft Excel to analyze data for your job or small business, one of the tasks that you may commonly need to perform is looking at a large set of numbers and calculating the difference between the largest and smallest to obtain a range. This is most quickly done by changing the sort order of the data. Sort a data range in Excel to calculate the range of the set.

Instructions

1. Click and drag with the mouse pointer to highlight the data set you are working with. The set should be in a single column, with each value in its own row.

2. Click the "Sort Smallest to Largest" button. This button looks like an "A" with a "Z" below it, and a down-facing arrow. The column will be sorted with the smallest value on the top, and the largest value on the bottom.

3. Click any cell that is outside the column of data, and press the equal (=) sign key on the keyboard. This signals Excel that you are now typing a mathematical formula.

4. Click the bottom (largest) cell in the data set, then press the minus (-) key.

5. Click the top (smallest) cell in the data set, then press "Enter." The number that appears in the cell where you have typed the formula is the range of the data set.

References

• Tizag.com: Excel sorting tutorial