Multiply numbers

Let's say you want to figure out how much bottled water you need for a customer conference (total attendees × 4 days × 3 bottles per day) or the reimbursement travel cost for a business trip (total miles × 0.46). There are several ways to multiply numbers.

Multiply numbers in a cell

To do this task, use the * (asterisk) arithmetic operator.

For example, if you type =5*10 in a cell, the cell displays the result, 50.

Multiply a column of numbers by a constant number

Suppose you want to multiply each cell in a column of seven numbers by a number in another cell. In this example, the number you want to multiply by is 3, in cell C2.

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A B C Data Formula Constant 15000 =A2*$C$2 3 12 =A3*$C$2 48 =A4*$C$2 729 =A5*$C$2 1534 =A6*$C$2 288 =A7*$C$2 4306 =A8*$C$2

1. Type =A2*$C$2 in cell B2. Be sure to include the $ symbol before C and before 2 in the formula.

   The $ symbol makes the reference to C2 absolute, which means when you copy the formula to another cell, the reference will always be to cell C2. If you didn't use $ symbols in the formula and you dragged the formula down to cell B3, Excel Online would change the formula to =A3*C3, which wouldn't work, because there is no value in C3.

2. Drag the formula in B2 down to the other cells in column B.

Multiply numbers in different cells using a formula

To do this, use the asterisk (*) operator or the PRODUCT function.

Example

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A B Data 5 15 30 Formula Description (Result) =A2*A3 Multiplies the numbers in the first two cells (75) =PRODUCT(A2:A4) Multiplies all the numbers in the range (2250) =PRODUCT(A2:A4,2) Multiplies all the numbers in the range by 2 (4500)

You can use any combination of up to 255 numbers or cell references in the PRODUCT function. For example, the formula =PRODUCT(A2,A4:A15,12,E3:E5,150,G4,H4:J6) multiplies the values in two single cells (A2 and G4), two numbers (12 and 150), and the values in three ranges (A4:A15, E3:E5, and H4:J6).