Top 100 Excel Interview Questions – MCQ

Prepare for your next job interview or skill test with these top Excel multiple choice questions. This set of 100+ carefully selected MCQs covers Excel formulas, functions, shortcut keys, and data handling techniques — ideal for beginners, job seekers, and anyone looking to improve their Excel proficiency.

✅ Section 1:

1. What is Microsoft Excel primarily used for?
   A) Drawing
   B) Writing stories
   C) Spreadsheet and data management ✅
   D) Web development
2. Which of the following is NOT a use of Excel?
   A) Data analysis
   B) Payroll generation
   C) Watching videos ✅
   D) Budget planning
3. What type of application is Microsoft Excel?
   A) Database
   B) Spreadsheet ✅
   C) Presentation
   D) Text editor
4. Which company developed Microsoft Excel?
   A) Google
   B) Apple
   C) Microsoft ✅
   D) IBM
5. Which file extension is used by Excel 2016 by default?
   A) .docx
   B) .xlsx ✅
   C) .xlsm
   D) .pptx
6. What is a “cell” in Excel?
   A) A document
   B) A worksheet
   C) An individual box in a spreadsheet ✅
   D) A formula
7. The horizontal rows in Excel are labeled as:
   A) Numbers ✅
   B) Letters
   C) Roman Numerals
   D) Names
8. What does a column in Excel represent?
   A) A horizontal line
   B) A vertical set of cells ✅
   C) A chart
   D) A diagram
9. What is the default number of worksheets in a new Excel workbook?
   A) 1 ✅
   B) 2
   C) 3
   D) 5
10. Which tab would you use to insert charts?
    A) File
    B) Review
    C) Insert ✅
    D) View
11. Which shortcut is used to save a workbook?
    A) Ctrl + S ✅
    B) Ctrl + P
    C) Ctrl + O
    D) Ctrl + D
12. Which function key is used to edit a cell?
    A) F1
    B) F2 ✅
    C) F4
    D) F12
13. What is the maximum number of rows in Excel 2016?
    A) 10,000
    B) 65,536
    C) 1,048,576 ✅
    D) 500,000
14. What feature automatically adjusts the width of a column?
    A) Column Break
    B) Auto Width
    C) AutoFit ✅
    D) Smart Width
15. Which menu contains “Freeze Panes”?
    A) Insert
    B) Page Layout
    C) Data
    D) View ✅
16. Excel charts can be found in which tab?
    A) Data
    B) Chart
    C) Insert ✅
    D) Design
17. Which function helps you sort data in Excel?
    A) Filter
    B) Sort ✅
    C) Organize
    D) Group
18. How many types of cell references are there in Excel?
    A) 1
    B) 2
    C) 3 ✅
    D) 4
19. What does Ctrl + Z do?
    A) Zoom in
    B) Undo ✅
    C) Save
    D) Redo
20. Excel is part of which suite?
    A) Microsoft Word
    B) Microsoft Office ✅
    C) Microsoft Visual Studio
    D) Google Workspace
21. What is the default font in Excel 2016?
    A) Arial
    B) Calibri ✅
    C) Verdana
    D) Times New Roman
22. What is the shortcut to create a new workbook?
    A) Ctrl + N ✅
    B) Ctrl + M
    C) Ctrl + W
    D) Ctrl + C
23. Which of these is a valid cell address?
    A) A-1
    B) 1A
    C) A1 ✅
    D) A#1
24. Excel allows how many characters in a single cell?
    A) 1024
    B) 32,767 ✅
    C) 10,000
    D) Unlimited
25. What does the formula bar display?
    A) Chart title
    B) Active formula or value ✅
    C) Workbook name
    D) Sheet name
26. What does Excel use to calculate?
    A) Commands
    B) Syntax
    C) Formulas ✅
    D) Graphics
27. What is the default alignment for numbers in Excel?
    A) Center
    B) Right ✅
    C) Left
    D) Justify
28. What is a “range” in Excel?
    A) A single cell
    B) A formula
    C) A group of selected cells ✅
    D) A graph
29. What is the extension of macro-enabled Excel files?
    A) .xls
    B) .xlsx
    C) .xlsm ✅
    D) .xlx
30. Excel is NOT used for:
    A) Financial Modeling
    B) Text Formatting ✅
    C) Budget Planning
    D) Inventory Management

✅ Section 2: Formulas in Excel (Q31–Q70)

31. Which formula is used to add numbers?
    A) =ADD
    B) =PLUS
    C) =SUM ✅
    D) =TOTAL
32. What does =AVERAGE(A1:A5) do?
    A) Adds all values
    B) Finds maximum
    C) Calculates average ✅
    D) Finds minimum
33. What is the use of =IF() function?
    A) Checks conditions ✅
    B) Adds values
    C) Joins text
    D) Sorts data
34. What does =VLOOKUP() do?
    A) Looks up values vertically ✅
    B) Looks horizontally
    C) Filters data
    D) Checks spelling
35. What is the use of =TRIM()?
    A) Remove numbers
    B) Remove spaces ✅
    C) Add spaces
    D) Split text
36. What is =CONCATENATE() used for?
    A) Comparing values
    B) Joining text ✅
    C) Finding duplicates
    D) Sorting cells
37. What does =LEFT("Excel",2) return?
    A) El
    B) Ex ✅
    C) Ec
    D) xl
38. Which function returns current date?
    A) =DATE()
    B) =CURRENT()
    C) =TODAY() ✅
    D) =NOW()
39. Which function returns both current date and time?
    A) =DATE()
    B) =TODAY()
    C) =NOW() ✅
    D) =TIME()
40. =LEN("Excel") returns:
    A) 6
    B) 5 ✅
    C) 4
    D) Error
41. What does =COUNT(A1:A10) count?
    A) Text
    B) All data
    C) Only numbers ✅
    D) Blank cells
42. What does =COUNTA(A1:A10) count?
    A) Only numbers
    B) Blank cells
    C) Text only
    D) Non-blank cells ✅
43. =MID("Microsoft",2,4) gives:
    A) icro ✅
    B) icro
    C) Micr
    D) Cro
44. What does =ROUND(23.789,1) return?
    A) 23.8 ✅
    B) 23.7
    C) 23.79
    D) 24.0
45. What is =ISNUMBER("Hello")?
    A) TRUE
    B) FALSE ✅
    C) Error
    D) 0
46. What does =MOD(10,3) return?
    A) 3
    B) 1 ✅
    C) 2
    D) 0
47. Which function converts text to lowercase?
    A) =UPPER
    B) =LOWER ✅
    C) =TEXT
    D) =CHAR
48. Which function converts text to uppercase?
    A) =UPPER ✅
    B) =BIG
    C) =CAPITAL
    D) =HIGH
49. =NOW() gives:
    A) Date
    B) Time
    C) Date and Time ✅
    D) Calendar
50. =ISBLANK(A1) returns TRUE if:
    A) Cell has formula
    B) Cell has value
    C) Cell is empty ✅
    D) Cell has 0

Section 2: Formulas in Excel (Q51–Q70)

51. What does =IF(2>1, "Yes", "No") return?
    A) No
    B) TRUE
    C) Yes ✅
    D) Error
52. =SUM(A1:A5) is an example of:
    A) Relative referencing ✅
    B) Absolute referencing
    C) Mixed referencing
    D) Static range
53. What does =$A$1 represent?
    A) Relative reference
    B) Absolute reference ✅
    C) Mixed reference
    D) Invalid formula
54. =A$1 is an example of:
    A) Absolute reference
    B) Relative reference
    C) Mixed reference ✅
    D) Fixed reference
55. =MAX(10, 30, 5) returns:
    A) 5
    B) 10
    C) 30 ✅
    D) 15
56. =MIN(4, 6, 9, 1) returns:
    A) 6
    B) 1 ✅
    C) 4
    D) 0
57. =POWER(2,3) gives:
    A) 8 ✅
    B) 6
    C) 9
    D) 23
58. What does =TEXT(44561,"dd-mm-yyyy") return?
    A) Cell format
    B) Date ✅
    C) Number
    D) Time
59. =INT(4.9) returns:
    A) 5
    B) 4 ✅
    C) 0
    D) 1
60. =RANK(10,A1:A10) gives:
    A) Row number
    B) Column number
    C) Position of 10 in range ✅
    D) Sorting
61. =PROPER("excel formulas") returns:
    A) excel formulas
    B) Excel Formulas ✅
    C) EXCEL FORMULAS
    D) Excel formulas
62. What does =ABS(-10) return?
    A) -10
    B) Error
    C) 10 ✅
    D) 0
63. =REPT("x",5) returns:
    A) x
    B) xxxxx ✅
    C) 5
    D) Error
64. =SUBTOTAL(9,A1:A5) performs:
    A) Counting
    B) Filtering
    C) Sum ✅
    D) Formatting
65. =SEARCH("o","Microsoft") returns:
    A) 6 ✅
    B) 5
    C) TRUE
    D) Error
66. What does =VALUE("100") do?
    A) Converts to text
    B) Returns 0
    C) Converts to number ✅
    D) Error
67. Which function returns the current system time?
    A) =NOW() ✅
    B) =TIME()
    C) =CLOCK()
    D) =DATE()
68. What does =TEXT("1/1/2025","dddd") return?
    A) 2025
    B) Monday (or actual day name) ✅
    C) 1
    D) dddd
69. =CEILING(4.3,1) returns:
    A) 4
    B) 5 ✅
    C) 4.3
    D) 6
70. =FLOOR(4.9,1) returns:
    A) 5
    B) 4 ✅
    C) 4.5
    D) 0

✅ Section 3: Common Mistakes in Excel (Q71–Q100)

71. What happens if you type numbers with a leading apostrophe ('123) in Excel?
    A) It will be stored as number
    B) It will be stored as text ✅
    C) It will be stored as date
    D) It will not work
72. Using too many manual entries instead of formulas results in:
    A) Less errors
    B) Time saving
    C) More time consumption ✅
    D) Faster Excel
73. What does $ sign in cell reference do?
    A) Hides data
    B) Highlights cell
    C) Fixes row/column ✅
    D) Deletes content
74. Which is a bad practice in Excel?
    A) Using shortcuts
    B) Naming worksheets
    C) Not formatting data ✅
    D) Backing up files
75. What happens if a cell has spaces only?
    A) It is counted in COUNT
    B) It is considered as text ✅
    C) It is blank
    D) It gives error
76. What happens if Excel formula has a typo?
    A) Nothing
    B) It auto-corrects
    C) It gives an error ✅
    D) It runs normally
77. To avoid mistakes, always:
    A) Use trial-and-error
    B) Use formulas ✅
    C) Enter manually
    D) Skip cell formats
78. How to prevent data loss in Excel?
    A) Don’t use it
    B) Use password
    C) Keep auto-backup ✅
    D) Format disk
79. Why should you avoid merged cells in large data sets?
    A) Makes Excel faster
    B) Merged cells can’t be sorted easily ✅
    C) Looks better
    D) Saves time
80. Forgetting to lock formula cells before sharing sheet causes:
    A) Sheet crash
    B) Formula loss ✅
    C) Extra features
    D) Faster performance
81. Using = without function or expression gives:
    A) 0
    B) Error ✅
    C) Result
    D) 1
82. Which is the correct use of cell reference in formula?
    A) A1+B1 ✅
    B) A-1+B-1
    C) A/B/C
    D) A#B#C
83. Which is a common mistake when copying formulas?
    A) Dragging cells
    B) Not checking references ✅
    C) Using keyboard
    D) Using AutoSum
84. Pressing Enter after typing formula will:
    A) Delete formula
    B) Evaluate formula ✅
    C) Save it as text
    D) Clear sheet
85. What causes #DIV/0! error?
    A) Multiplying 0
    B) Dividing by zero ✅
    C) Empty row
    D) Merging cells
86. Which error appears for wrong function name?
    A) #N/A
    B) #NAME? ✅
    C) #REF!
    D) #VALUE!
87. What does #REF! error indicate?
    A) Formatting issue
    B) Cell reference is invalid ✅
    C) Data missing
    D) Typing mistake
88. To prevent accidental changes in formula:
    A) Use color
    B) Merge cells
    C) Protect sheet ✅
    D) Use TRIM()
89. Which function helps correct text formatting?
    A) PROPER ✅
    B) LOWER
    C) CLEAN
    D) TEXT
90. One reason Excel crashes is:
    A) Too little data
    B) Too many formulas without optimization ✅
    C) Using UPPER()
    D) Typing slowly
91. What should be avoided when sharing Excel files?
    A) Protected sheets
    B) External links ✅
    C) Filters
    D) Formulas
92. Unformatted numbers may appear as:
    A) Date ✅
    B) Text
    C) Formula
    D) Chart
93. Which is NOT a best practice in Excel?
    A) Using charts
    B) Using conditional formatting
    C) Manual total entry ✅
    D) Using pivot tables
94. What slows down Excel performance?
    A) SUM()
    B) Charts
    C) Volatile functions ✅
    D) IF()
95. Copy-pasting large data without formats causes:
    A) Fast performance
    B) Unreadable data ✅
    C) Better file
    D) Shortcut removal
96. Which is a safer format for file backup?
    A) .txt
    B) .xlsx ✅
    C) .jpg
    D) .pdf
97. A clean Excel sheet should:
    A) Have random colors
    B) Be merged everywhere
    C) Use formatting, borders & headings ✅
    D) Be left blank
98. What can prevent accidental deletion of formulas?
    A) Formatting
    B) Freezing panes
    C) Sheet protection ✅
    D) Filtering
99. Forgetting to use Data Validation can cause:
    A) Wrong data entry ✅
    B) More speed
    C) Less errors
    D) Blank rows
100. Which of the following is true?
     A) Excel is only for accountants
     B) Excel cannot be automated
     C) Excel helps save time and improve accuracy ✅
     D) Excel does not support logic