(Excel examples for Beginners)
In this end-to-end excel example, you will learn – Excel formula for Beginners – How to Average last 5 values in columns in Excel.
Excel formula for Beginners – How to Average last 5 values in columns in Excel
Generic formula
=AVERAGE(OFFSET(firstcell,0,COUNT(rng)-N,1,N))
Explanation
To average the last 5 data values in a range of columns, you can use the AVERAGE function together with the COUNT and OFFSET functions. In the example shown, the formula in F6 is:
=AVERAGE(OFFSET(D5,0,COUNT(D5:J5)-5,1,5))
How this formula works
The OFFSET function can be used to construct dynamic ranges using a starting cell, and given rows, columns, height, and width.
The rows and columns arguments function like “offsets” from the starting reference. The height and width arguments, both optional, determine how many rows and columns the final range includes. We want OFFSET to return a range that begins at the last entry and expands “backwards” so we supply arguments as follows:
reference – the starting reference is D5 – the cell directly to the right of the formula, and the first cell in the range of values we are working with.
rows – we use 0 for the rows argument, because we want to stay in the same row.
columns – for the columns argument, we use the COUNT function to count all values in the range, then subtract 5. This shifts the beginning of the range 5 columns to the left.
height – we use 1 since we want a 1-row range as the final result.
width – we use 5, since we want a final range with 5 columns.
For the formula in C5, OFFSET returns a final range of F5:J5. This goes into the AVERAGE function which returns the average of the 5 values in the range
Less than 5 values
If there are less than 5 values, the formula will return a circular reference error, since the range will extend back into the cell that contains the formula. To prevent this error, you can adapt the formula as follows:
=AVERAGE(OFFSET(first,0,COUNT(rng)-MIN(N,COUNT(rng)),1,MIN(N,COUNT(rng))))
Here we use the MIN function to “catch” situations where there are less than 5 values, and use the actual count when there are.
Disclaimer: The information and code presented within this recipe/tutorial is only for educational and coaching purposes for beginners and developers. Anyone can practice and apply the recipe/tutorial presented here, but the reader is taking full responsibility for his/her actions. The author (content curator) of this recipe (code / program) has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information was correct at time of publication. The author (content curator) does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from accident, negligence, or any other cause. The information presented here could also be found in public knowledge domains.
Learn by Coding: v-Tutorials on Applied Machine Learning and Data Science for Beginners
Latest end-to-end Learn by Coding Projects (Jupyter Notebooks) in Python and R:
All Notebooks in One Bundle: Data Science Recipes and Examples in Python & R.
End-to-End Python Machine Learning Recipes & Examples.
End-to-End R Machine Learning Recipes & Examples.
Applied Statistics with R for Beginners and Business Professionals
Data Science and Machine Learning Projects in Python: Tabular Data Analytics
Data Science and Machine Learning Projects in R: Tabular Data Analytics
Python Machine Learning & Data Science Recipes: Learn by Coding
R Machine Learning & Data Science Recipes: Learn by Coding
Comparing Different Machine Learning Algorithms in Python for Classification (FREE)
There are 2000+ End-to-End Python & R Notebooks are available to build Professional Portfolio as a Data Scientist and/or Machine Learning Specialist. All Notebooks are only $29.95. We would like to request you to have a look at the website for FREE the end-to-end notebooks, and then decide whether you would like to purchase or not.
Excel formula for Beginners – How to Average last 5 values in Excel
Excel formula for Beginners – How to Sum every n rows in Excel