Lesson 3: Copying formulas: relative and absolute references in practice

When you copy a formula down or across, Google Sheets automatically shifts the cell references. These are called relative references. For example, if you enter =B2*1.2 in C2 and then copy the formula to C3, C3 automatically gets =B3*1.2. This is handy when you need to apply the same operation to every row. But what if the multiplier (1.2) is stored in a single cell — say, E1 — and you want to multiply every price by that number? When you copy =B2*E1 down, it becomes =B3*E2, =B4*E3, and so on — the reference to the multiplier “shifts” and the formula breaks. This is a typical beginner mistake. The solution is the dollar sign, $. It locks the row, the column, or both: $E$1 means “always cell E1; don’t move it across rows or columns.” When you copy =B2*$E$1 down, it becomes =B3*$E$1 — the reference to B changes (which is what you want), while the reference to E1 stays put. You can lock only the column ($E1) or only the row (E$1) — these are called mixed references.