Conditional Logic Using Excel “IF” Statements

Logical Test If True If False

Did you finish your dinner?

You may have dessert.

You may not have dessert.

Are you a registered voter?

You may vote in the election.

You may not vote in the election.

Does the animal have a backbone?

It is classified as a vertebrate.

It is classified as an invertebrate.

Do you want to mail the letter?

You will need to get a stamp.

You will not need to get a stamp.

Some “plain-English” examples ofconditional logic statements

My grading scale—(yours might be different)

From To Ltr Grade Pass or Fail

>=0% <59.5% F Fail

>=59.5% <69.5% D Pass

>=69.5% <79.5% C Pass

>=79.5% <89.5% B Pass

>=89.5% <=100% A Pass

Example 1: A simple conditional logic test

Based on the grading scale shown in the previous slide, create a conditional logic statement that determines if each of the values in column K (“Pct of Tot Pts Possible”) represents a passing grade (“Pass”) or a failing grade (“Fail”), and store the results in column M ( “Pass or “Fail”).

  K L M

1 Pct of Tot Pts Possible Ltr Grade Pass or Fail

2 89.6

3 73

4 59.4  

5 79.8  

6 67.2  

The basic form of an “If” statement is:

=IF(Logical Test is True,Then,Else)

Logical Test If True If False

Is K2>=59.5? M2=Pass M2=Fail

=IF(K2>=59.5,“Pass","Fail")

The conditional logic statement for the first case is:

  K L M

1 Pct of Tot Pts Possible Ltr Grade Pass or Fail

2 89.6 Pass

3 73

4 59.4  

5 79.8  

6 67.2  

For the value in K2 (i.e., 73), the conditional logic statement would be: =IF(K2>=59.5,”Pass”,”Fail”)For the value in K3 (i.e., 89.6), the conditional logic statement would be: =IF(K3>=59.5,”Pass”,”Fail”)For the value in K4 (i.e., 59.4), the conditional logic statement would be: =IF(K4>=59.5,”Pass”,”Fail”)For the value in K5 (i.e., 79.8), the conditional logic statement would be: =IF(K5>=59.5,”Pass”,”Fail”)For the value in K6 (i.e., 67.2), the conditional logic statement would be: =IF(K6>=59.5,”Pass”,”Fail”)

The conditional logic statements for all cases are:

  K L M

1 Pct of Tot Pts Possible Ltr Grade Pass or Fail

2 89.6 Pass

3 73 Pass

4 59.4   Fail

5 79.8   Pass

6 67.2   Pass

Example 2: “Nested” conditional logic tests

Based on the grading scale shown previously, create a conditional logic statement that will determine the letter grade for each of the values in column K (“Pct of Tot Pts Possible”), and store the results in column L (“Ltr Grade”).

  K L M

1 Pct of Tot Pts Possible Ltr Grade Pass or Fail

2 89.6

3 73

4 59.4  

5 79.8  

6 67.2  

=IF(K2>=89.5,"A",IF(K2>=79.5,"B",IF(K2>=69.5,"C",IF(K2>=59.5,"D","F"))))

Displayed on the next four slides are itsfour ”nested” component parts…

  K L M

1 Pct of Tot Pts Possible Ltr Grade Pass or Fail

2 89.6 A

3 73

4 59.4  

5 79.8  

6 67.2  

The conditional logic statement for the first case is:

Logical Test If True If False

Is K2>=59.5? L2=D L2=F

Is K2>=69.5? L2=C Steps in Blue

Is K2>=79.5? L2=B Steps in Blue

Is K2>=89.5? L2=A Steps in Blue

=IF(K2>=89.5,"A",IF(K2>=79.5,"B",IF(K2>=69.5,"C",IF(K2>=59.5,"D","F"))))

  K L M

1 Pct of Tot Pts Possible Ltr Grade Pass or Fail

2 89.6 D

3 73

4 59.4  

5 79.8  

6 67.2  

Logical Test If True If False

Is K2>=59.5? L2=D L2=F

Is K2>=69.5? L2=C Steps in Blue

Is K2>=79.5? L2=B Steps in Blue

Is K2>=89.5? L2=A Steps in Blue

=IF(K2>=89.5,"A",IF(K2>=79.5,"B",IF(K2>=69.5,"C",IF(K2>=59.5,"D","F“))))

  K L M

1 Pct of Tot Pts Possible Ltr Grade Pass or Fail

2 89.6 C

3 73

4 59.4  

5 79.8  

6 67.2  

Logical Test If True If False

Is K2>=59.5? L2=D L2=F

Is K2>=69.5? L2=C Steps in Blue

Is K2>=79.5? L2=B Steps in Blue

Is K2>=89.5? L2=A Steps in Blue

=IF(K2>=89.5,"A",IF(K2>=79.5,"B",IF(K2>=69.5,"C",IF(K2>=59.5,"D","F“))))

  K L M

1 Pct of Tot Pts Possible Ltr Grade Pass or Fail

2 89.6 B

3 73

4 59.4  

5 79.8  

6 67.2  

Logical Test If True If False

Is K2>=59.5? L2=D L2=F

Is K2>=69.5? L2=C Steps in Blue

Is K2>=79.5? L2=B Steps in Blue

Is K2>=89.5? L2=A Steps in Blue

=IF(K2>=89.5,"A",IF(K2>=79.5,"B",IF(K2>=69.5,"C",IF(K2>=59.5,"D","F"))))

  K L M

1 Pct of Tot Pts Possible Ltr Grade Pass or Fail

2 89.6 A

3 73

4 59.4  

5 79.8  

6 67.2  

For the value in K2 (i.e., 73), the conditional logic statement would be: =IF(K2>=89.5,"A",IF(K2>=79.5,"B",IF(K2>=69.5,"C",IF(K2>=59.5,"D","F"))))For the value in K3 (i.e., 89.6), the conditional logic statement would be: =IF(K3>=89.5,"A",IF(K3>=79.5,"B",IF(K3>=69.5,"C",IF(K3>=59.5,"D","F"))))For the value in K4 (i.e., 59.4), the conditional logic statement would be: =IF(K4>=89.5,"A",IF(K4>=79.5,"B",IF(K4>=69.5,"C",IF(K4>=59.5,"D","F"))))For the value in K5 (i.e., 79.8), the conditional logic statement would be: =IF(K5>=89.5,"A",IF(K5>=79.5,"B",IF(K5>=69.5,"C",IF(K5>=59.5,"D","F"))))For the value in K6 (i.e., 67.2), the conditional logic statement would be: =IF(K6>=89.5,"A",IF(K6>=79.5,"B",IF(K6>=69.5,"C",IF(K6>=59.5,"D","F"))))

The conditional logic statements for all cases are:

  K L M

1 Pct of Tot Pts Possible Ltr Grade Pass or Fail

2 89.6 A

3 73 C

4 59.4 F 

5 79.8 B 

6 67.2 D 

Some Important Things to Remember About Nested Conditional Logic Statements:

• You are limited to a maximum of 7 logical tests when creating nested conditional logic statements.

• Separate the 3 parameters for each conditional logic statement with commas.

• For each conditional logic statement, you must enclose its parameters inside a separate set of parenthesis.

• For each conditional logic statement, if the “then” and “else” parameters are fixed characters (like letters or numbers), enclose them in a pair of double quotes (i.e., “).