SUMSQ practice

Squaring deviations prevents positive and negative misses from cancelling. SUMSQ totals those squared values directly.

Lesson 71 of 72 · 3 exercises

Practise SUMSQ

What you will practise

SUMSQ squares each numeric value before adding. Divide by the number of observations for a mean square, then take SQRT for the root mean square.

SUMSQ(number1, …)

The syntax above is a guide. Read the data and each task to choose the right arguments for your formula.

3 exercises in this lesson

  1. Exercise 1 · answer in E10

    Calculate the sum of squared deviations in D2:D5.

  2. Exercise 2 · answer in E10

    Calculate the mean squared deviation across the four values D2:D5.

  3. Exercise 3 · answer in E10

    Calculate the root mean squared deviation for D2:D5.

Before you check your answer

  • Keep the source data intact. Write your answer in the highlighted result cell. Changing a source value changes the question instead of solving it.
  • Use the requested cells. Check the first and last row of a range and read its column heading. A plausible total can still come from the wrong data.
  • Reference values that can change. A fixed number may match today's sheet. A cell reference keeps the formula connected when the source values change.

How the answer is checked

The workbook evaluates your formula against the requested result. It also checks the skill being practised and tests the formula with changed source data, so a fixed answer that happens to match is not enough.

Use progressive hints when you need help, then try the task again with fresh data. Correctly solving a step opens the next exercise.