Fahdi has autofilled a formula down in the Discount column to show the discount for each Member Type but is getting an error message. What is the problem?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

A relative cell reference changes when copied, so the lookup range or discount-cell references must be made absolute ($) before autofilling.

Relevant concepts: Excel/Sheets has relative references (A2) that shift when copied and absolute references ($A$2) that stay fixed. Functions like VLOOKUP or formulas that reference the small discount table must lock that table with absolute references so every row looks up against the same two discount rows.

Step-by-step reasoning:
1. Fahdi created a formula in the first Discount cell that uses the Member Discount table (for example, =VLOOKUP(A6,A2:B3,2,FALSE) or =IF(A6=A2,B2,IF(A6=A3,B3,0))). In that single-cell version the references A2:B3 (or A2, B2, etc.) point correctly to Gold = 10%.
2. When he autofills downward, relative references shift: A2:B3 becomes A3:B4, A4:B5, etc. That causes the lookup to point at the wrong cells (headers, blank rows, or other unrelated values).
3. Wrong references produce errors or nonsensical results: blank -> 0%, text header -> shows "Fee", or an unintended numeric cell -> large percentage like 25000% depending on what was in the shifted cell.
4. Fix: change the lookup range and specific discount-cell references to absolute, e.g. =VLOOKUP(A6,$A$2:$B$3,2,FALSE) or use $B$2 in IF expressions, then autofill—every row uses the same discount table and returns correct percentages.

Why the correct answer (a) is correct: the described symptoms (first row OK, subsequent rows showing 0, text, or huge percentages) are classic results of using relative references when a fixed lookup range was intended. Locking with $ prevents the shift and eliminates errors.

Why other options are incorrect:
b) If the formula referenced the wrong single cell, the first result would already be wrong; the pattern shows shifting, not a fixed wrong cell.
c) The operator (e.g., multiplication) is not indicated as wrong; mathematical errors would give consistent wrong numbers, not mixed text and huge percentages.
d) Using a formula versus a built-in function is not the issue—both work if references are correct.

Final answer: a. He has not used absolute references in his formula.

Fahdi has autofilled a formula down in the Discount column to show the discount for each Member Type but is getting an error message. What is the problem?单项选择题

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