What Is Quotient In Google Sheets?
The Quotient in Google Sheets function returns one number divided by another without the remainder. The QUOTIENT function is a mathematical function that can be used to calculate the quotient of dividing one number by another. The QUOTIENT function can be useful to determine if a number is exactly divisible by another. If it is, the quotient will be zero; if the result is anything other than zero, then you know for certain that the two numbers are not exactly divisible.
For example, if you want to find the quotient by dividing 25 by 4, you can use the formula =QUOTIENT(25, 4). The function will perform the division and return the result, which in this case would be 6. Please note that the QUOTIENT function rounds towards zero.
Key Takeaways
- The QUOTIENT function returns the integer part of a division, not the decimal or fractional part. You do not get the remainder.
- The syntax of the function is as follows: =QUOTIENT(dividend, divisor)
- dividend: The number to be divided.
- b. divisor: The number with which to divide the dividend.
- If the divisor is zero, QUOTIENT will return a #DIV/0! error because the division by zero is undefined.
- QUOTIENT in Google Sheets can be used with other functions, such as MOD, to find the integer part and the remainder of a division.
Quotient() Google Sheets Formula
The syntax of QUOTIENT in Google Sheets is:
=QUOTIENT(dividend, divisor)
- The first argument, “dividend,” refers to the number being divided
- The second argument, “divisor,” refers to the number you’re dividing by.
The QUOTIENT in Google Sheets is very useful in areas where you need to divide numbers and just need the quotient, discarding any remainder. For example, in time calculation, to find the number of hours needed for a task, you just need to divide the minutes by 60, and the remainder is inconsequential. It’s important to note that if either the dividend or divisor in the QUOTIENT function is not a numerical value, Google Sheets will return an error.
How To Use Quotient Function In Google Sheets?
There are two ways to use the quotient function in Google sheets.
- Enter the function manually
- Through the Google toolbar
#1 – Enter the function manually
Using QUOTIENT in Google Sheets is as simple as it gets! You do not need to remember any complicated formula. Just supply the dividend and divisor, as shown below.
- Open Google Sheets and enter the values of the dividend and divisor. Select the cell where we want the result of the QUOTIENT function to appear.
- Type =QUOTIENT(
Enter the first number’s reference you want to use as the numerator. Here, it is A2. Next, with a comma, enter the second number’s reference, which is to be used as the denominator (B2).
- Press Enter. Google Sheets displays the result of the QUOTIENT function in your cell.
- Drag the formula down to C4 to get the quotients for all the other values.
#2 – Through the Google toolbar
- Choose the cell where you want to enter the COT formula.
- Go to the menu bar and click on “Insert” ➝ “Function” ➝ “Math” ➝ “QUOTIENT.”
- Enter the required arguments. Close the bracket and press the “Enter” key.
Examples
Let us look at a few QUOTIENT in Google sheets examples to learn how to apply the QUOTIENT function in Google Sheets.
Example #1 – Use QUOTIENT to Find a Remainder in Google Sheets
Like the DIVIDE function, QUOTIENT has two parameters: the dividend and the divisor. Unlike DIVIDE, which returns the exact result, it returns only the quotient and not the remainder. Here, let us look at how to find the remainder using QUOTIENT.
Here, the QUOTIENT function itself only provides the integer part of a division. For the remainder, you can use the following formula.
Dividend – QUOTIENT(dividend, divisor)*divisor
- Step 1: In an empty sheet, type some values for the dividend and divisor.
- Step 2: Select the cell where you need the quotient. Here, it is C2. Type the following formula in cell C2.
=QUOTIENT(A2,B2)
Press Enter. You get the quotient. Drag the formula till C5 and get the quotient values for all the numbers.
- Step 3: Now, use the following formula in D2 to get the remainder for the first set of numbers.
=A2 – (C2*B2)
- Step 4: Now, drag the formula up to D5.
Example #2 – Use QUOTIENT with Conditional Formatting
Conditional formatting allows the formatting of particular cells based on the given criteria. Here, we have the values of some numbers, and we will shade the cells whose quotient is greater than 25.
- Step 1: First, as with the above example, enter the dividend and divisor in two columns.
- Step 2: Apply the following formula in cell C2.
- Step 3: Press Enter and drag it all the way down to C7.
- Step 4: Now, let us shade all the cells with a Quotient greater than 10. For this, go to
Format → Conditional Formatting in the menu bar.
- Step 5: In the pane that appears on the right side of the sheet, select the range C2 to C7. Under Format rules, choose ‘greater than’ and give ten as the value.
- Step 6: Press Done. All cells with values greater than 10 in the specified range are shaded.
Example #3 – Use QUOTIENT with Array Formula
Suppose there are two columns of numbers, and you want to divide each value in the first column by the corresponding value in the second column. Instead of copy-pasting or dragging the formula across each set of values, we can use the array formula.
- Column A contains dividends.
- Column B contains divisors.
- Step 1: To calculate the quotient or integer portion of each row’s value in a single step, use the following ARRAYFORMULA function in conjunction with QUOTIENT, as shown below.
=ARRAYFORMULA(QUOTIENT(A2:A7, B2:B7))
Apply this formula to cell C2.
Explanation:
- Here, ARRAYFORMULA allows the QUOTIENT function to operate on an entire range rather than a single set of values.
- QUOTIENT(A1:A4, B1:B4) returns the quotient for each row in Columns A and B.
- Step 2: Press Enter. You get the entire range of values in one go.
Example #4 – Use QUOTIENT with MOD Function
Let’s suppose you have items that need to be fitted into boxes. Let’s group the items in one column and the number of boxes in another.
- Step 1: You can use QUOTIENT to find the number of full boxes needed for each item and MOD to find the remainder to be accommodated in another box or net set of sales.
Apply the following formula in cell D2 to find the number of items that can fit into each box.
=QUOTIENT(B2,C2)
- Step 2: Press Enter. You get the number of laptops to be accommodated in a box. Now, drag the formula till cell D5 for all the remaining items.
- Step 3: Now, to find the items remaining for each category and to accommodate the in a separate box. Use the following formula in cell E2.
- Step 4: Press Enter. The Autofill option will fill the result of the values when you select it. It gives you an idea of the remaining items in each category after fitting into the available boxes.
As you can see, apart from the first item, the rest fit perfectly equally into the available boxes.
Important Things to Note
- For negative numbers, the sign of the result depends on the signs of the dividend and divisor:
- If both are positive or negative, the result is positive.
- If one is positive and the other is negative, the result is negative.
- The QUOTIENT function returns only the integer part of the division. The decimal portion or remainder is removed.
- In the case of a zero dividend, the function returns zero, irrespective of the divisor. If the divisor is zero, you get the #DIV/0! Error.
- The QUOTIENT can be used in conjunction with the MOD function to analyze division results comprehensively.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The QUOTIENT function is commonly used in the following scenarios.
• It can be used when calculating the average to find a whole number of results. It can also be used to partition data into equal groups.
• Suppose you want to divide an equal amount of money between people by using QUOTIENT. In that case, you can easily calculate how much each person will receive without any remainder, ensuring a fair distribution of funds.
• It is also used by programmers in computer science to optimize algorithms. This improves the performance of the code.
Here are a few common errors related to QUOTIENT in Google sheets.
• #DIV/0! error: This error occurs when the divisor is zero and you use the QUOTIENT function, which is mathematically undefined.
• #VALUE! error: This error occurs if the arguments given to the function are non-numeric.
The DIVIDE function is used for regular division and gives you the full result, including the decimal points. However, QUOTIENT only gives the integer part of the division. For example, when we use 12 as a dividend and 5 as a divisor, we get the following result.
=DIVIDE(12,5)= 2.4
=QUOTIENT(12,5) = 2
QUOTIENT handles negative numbers by rounding towards zero. So, QUOTIENT(-17, 5) returns -1 but QUOTIENT(-17, 5) returns 1.
Download Template
This article must help understand Quotient In Google Sheets with its formulas and examples. You can download the template here to use it instantly.
Recommended Articles
Guide to What is Quotient In Google Sheets. We discuss how to use it to find the quotient in different ways with detailed examples. You can learn more from the following articles –
Leave a Reply