---
title: "Specify the order of operations used for evaluating formulas in Excel."  
description: "Specify the order of operations used for evaluating formulas in Excel."  
author: "Steilla Mitchel"  
published: 2022-03-25  
canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/96544/specify-the-order-of-operations-used-for-evaluating-formulas-in-excel  
category: "troubleshooting"  
tags: ["troubleshooting", "excel"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# Specify the order of operations used for evaluating formulas in Excel.

Specify the [order](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/12276/how-timely-order-deliveries-can-improve-customer-experience) of [operations used for evaluating](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/31732/specify-the-order-of-operations-used-for-evaluating-formulas-in-ms-excel) formulas in Excel.

## Answers

### Answer by Hitesh Vohra

![Specify the order of operations used for evaluating formulas in Excel.](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/f0f16a0f-de26-4349-b82d-39a930de4757/images/e6551392-56c0-4ab7-9abf-d96df3bfed14.jpeg) **\**

- [**Excel**](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/96536/how-can-you-resize-the-column-in-excel) employs a common arithmetic process called **'order of [operations](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/304985/how-does-devops-bridge-the-gap-between-development-and-operations-teams-like-git)'** when assessing a formula. Excel's order of operations is based on the acronym PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction), but with some tweaks to deal with the formula syntax in a spreadsheet.
- Any expressions in parentheses must first be evaluated. Parentheses effectively override the typical order of operations to guarantee that specific tasks are completed first.
- Excel will then resolve the references. This comprises assessing range references like A1:A5, which become arrays of values, as well as replacing cell references like A1 with the value from the cell. At this time, other range operations such as union (comma) and intersection (space) take place.

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**Read More: [What is the ‘what if’ analysis in excel?](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/96525/what-is-the-what-if-analysis-in-excel)**


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