Question

    You have a dataset with sales data for multiple regions

    and months. You want to calculate the total sales per region and then filter the regions with total sales greater than $1,000,000. Which of the following Excel features would be the most efficient way to achieve this?
    A VLOOKUP Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    B Pivot Table Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    C SUMIF Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    D COUNTIF Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    E Data Validation Correct Answer Incorrect Answer

    Solution

    A Pivot Table is the most efficient way to aggregate, filter, and analyze large datasets in Excel. Pivot tables allow you to group data by categories (e.g., regions) and summarize it with calculations such as sums, averages, and counts. In this case, the Pivot Table allows you to calculate total sales per region and then filter out those with sales above $1,000,000. The Pivot Table provides an interactive and dynamic way to analyze data and is especially useful when working with large datasets. Why Other Options Are Wrong : A) VLOOKUP : VLOOKUP is used to find data in a table based on a matching value, but it is not designed for aggregating or summarizing data by groups (regions in this case). C) SUMIF : While SUMIF could sum sales based on a condition, it is less flexible for grouping data by regions and allows no easy way to filter the results. A Pivot Table is more powerful for summarization and filtering. D) COUNTIF : COUNTIF is used to count the number of occurrences that meet a condition, not for summing or aggregating sales data. E) Data Validation : Data Validation restricts data entry based on specified criteria but does not perform any aggregation or filtering operations on data.

    Practice Next