1
Chain Two Lookups Together
Free
A2:B4 maps Product to Category. D2:E4 maps Category to a base discount rate. F2 holds a product name. Write a formula in G2 that finds the product's category, then looks up that category's discount rate — a lookup feeding a lookup.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
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| 1 | | | | | | | |
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| 2 | Widget | Hardware | | Hardware | 0.1 | Gizmo | ? |
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| 3 | Gadget | Electronics | | Electronics | 0.15 | | |
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| 4 | Gizmo | Hardware | | | | | |
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Show the solution
Nest one VLOOKUP inside another: =VLOOKUP(VLOOKUP(F2,A2:B4,2,FALSE),D2:E3,2,FALSE)
Right — the inner VLOOKUP resolves the product to its category, and the outer VLOOKUP uses that result to find the discount rate.
Expected result in G2: 0.1
2
Look Up a Manager's Department Through an Employee
Free
A2:B4 maps Employee to Manager. D2:E4 maps Manager to Department. F2 holds an employee name. Write a formula in G2 that finds the employee's manager, then that manager's department.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
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| 1 | | | | | | | |
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| 2 | Sam | Priya | | Priya | Sales | Alex | ? |
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| 3 | Alex | Chen | | Chen | Support | | |
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| 4 | Lena | Priya | | | | | |
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Show the solution
Nest the lookups: =VLOOKUP(VLOOKUP(F2,A2:B4,2,FALSE),D2:E3,2,FALSE)
Good — this two-hop lookup pattern is common when data is spread across related lookup tables.
Expected result in G2: Support
3
Resolve a Product's Warehouse Region
Free
A2:B4 maps Product to Warehouse. D2:E4 maps Warehouse to Region. F2 holds a product. Write a formula in G2 that resolves the product to its warehouse, then to its region.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
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| 1 | | | | | | | |
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| 2 | Widget | WH1 | | WH1 | West | Widget | ? |
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| 3 | Gadget | WH2 | | WH2 | East | | |
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| 4 | Gizmo | WH1 | | | | | |
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Show the solution
Nest the lookups: =VLOOKUP(VLOOKUP(F2,A2:B4,2,FALSE),D2:E3,2,FALSE)
Right — chaining VLOOKUPs lets you traverse two related tables in one formula.
Expected result in G2: West
4
Combine XLOOKUP Nesting for a Two-Hop Resolution
A2:A4 and B2:B4 map Course to Instructor. D2:D4 and E2:E4 map Instructor to Office. F2 holds a course. Write a formula in G2 using nested XLOOKUP that resolves course to instructor to office.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
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| 1 | | | | | | | |
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| 2 | Math | Dr. Lee | | Dr. Lee | Room 210 | History | ? |
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| 3 | Art | Dr. Kim | | Dr. Kim | Room 305 | | |
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| 4 | History | Dr. Lee | | | | | |
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Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →
5
Resolve a Ticket's Team Through Its Category
A2:B4 maps Ticket Type to Category. D2:E4 maps Category to Team. F2 holds a ticket type. Write a formula in G2 that resolves type to category, then to the responsible team.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
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| 1 | | | | | | | |
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| 2 | Bug | Technical | | Technical | Engineering | Crash | ? |
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| 3 | Billing Issue | Finance | | Finance | Accounting | | |
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| 4 | Crash | Technical | | | | | |
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Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →
6
Resolve a City's Country From Its Region
A2:B4 maps City to Region. D2:E4 maps Region to Country. F2 holds a city. Write a formula in G2 that resolves city to region, then to country.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
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| 1 | | | | | | | |
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| 2 | Austin | South | | South | USA | Denver | ? |
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| 3 | Boston | Northeast | | West | USA | | |
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| 4 | Denver | West | | | | | |
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Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →
7
Resolve a Part's Supplier Contact
A2:B4 maps Part to Supplier. D2:E4 maps Supplier to Contact Name. F2 holds a part. Write a formula in G2 that resolves part to supplier, then to contact.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
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| 1 | | | | | | | |
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| 2 | Bolt | Acme | | Acme | Maria | Sensor | ? |
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| 3 | Cable | Globex | | Globex | Diego | | |
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| 4 | Sensor | Acme | | | | | |
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Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →
8
Resolve an Order's Shipping Zone Fee
A2:B4 maps Order to Zone. D2:E4 maps Zone to Fee. F2 holds an order ID. Write a formula in G2 that resolves the order to its zone, then to the shipping fee.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
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| 1 | | | | | | | |
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| 2 | ORD1 | Zone A | | Zone A | 5 | ORD3 | ? |
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| 3 | ORD2 | Zone B | | Zone B | 12 | | |
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| 4 | ORD3 | Zone A | | | | | |
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Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →
9
Resolve a Student's Advisor Office
A2:B4 maps Student to Advisor. D2:E4 maps Advisor to Office. F2 holds a student name. Write a formula in G2 that resolves student to advisor, then to office.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
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| 1 | | | | | | | |
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| 2 | Alex | Dr. Patel | | Dr. Patel | Room 12 | Priya | ? |
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| 3 | Sam | Dr. Wong | | Dr. Wong | Room 8 | | |
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| 4 | Priya | Dr. Patel | | | | | |
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Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →
10
Resolve a Device's Warranty Provider
A2:B4 maps Device to Manufacturer. D2:E4 maps Manufacturer to Warranty Provider. F2 holds a device. Write a formula in G2 that resolves device to manufacturer, then to warranty provider.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
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| 1 | | | | | | | |
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| 2 | Laptop | TechCo | | TechCo | CoverAll | Tablet | ? |
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| 3 | Phone | MobileInc | | MobileInc | ShieldPlus | | |
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| 4 | Tablet | TechCo | | | | | |
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Solution and instant grading: open it in the practice app (use one of your 20 free picks, or Pro).
Try it in the live spreadsheet →