Use The Mod Function To Find The Remainder In Google Sheets

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What it does – Calculates the remainder when a number is divided by another number

Syntax:
=MOD(dividend, divisor)

dividend – The number which is going to be divided

divisor – The number which is going to divide the dividend

Sample usage:
=MOD(15, 7)

// The output will be 1 as 15/7 gives the remainder with value 1

Sample Google Sheets template with formula here

Google Sheets provide us with a wide variety of mathematical functions which makes our lives easier. There are many mathematical functions in Google Sheets that are used to perform arithmetic calculations.

One of the mathematical functions is the MOD function which is used to find the remainder in Google Sheets. It’s easy and simple to learn and is used with other functions or custom formulas.

In this tutorial, we will learn how to use the MOD function to find the remainder in Google Sheets.

The MOD function in Google Sheets

The MOD function is also known as the MODULUS function denoted by the ‘%’ sign. It’s used to calculate the remainder and accepts dividend and divisor as its parameters. The syntax of the MOD function in Google Sheets is as follows:

=MOD(dividend, divisor)

Now we are going to use the MOD function to find the remainder in Google Sheets. 

The MOD function to find the remainder in Google Sheets

In the following example, we have a spreadsheet containing dividend and divisor values. Our objective is to use the MOD function and find out the remainder of the respective values.

Example to understand how to use the MOD function to find the remainder in Google Sheets

The steps are as follows:

  • Select the empty cell under the Remainder header
  • Begin your function with the ‘=’ sign. Type in the ‘MOD’. The Google Sheets will prompt this function, press the Tab/Enter key to autocomplete. The tooltip guide will appear along with the details.
Type in the MOD function
  • Enter the cell address of the dividend as the first parameter
Fill in the first parameter
  • Enter the cell address of the divisor as the second parameter
Fill in the second parameter
  • Press the Enter key and the remainder gets displayed
The remainder get displayed
  • Drag the function to fill up the entire column with respective remainder values
Drag the formula to fill the empty column

We have successfully learned how to use the MOD function to find the remainder in Google Sheets. It’s quite a useful arithmetic function used with other functions to perform complex arithmetic operations. 

Using the MOD function with other functions

The MOD function in Google Sheets is rarely used alone. It’s usually used in conjunction with some other functions. Let’s try to understand the actual use case of the MOD function in Google Sheets:

  • We can use the MOD function whenever we want to convert seconds to HH:MM:SS format. The following function is used to perform the conversion:
=TRUNC(A4/3600)&TEXT(MOD(A4/86400,1), ":MM:SS")

In this case, we want to find out leftover seconds and that’s why we use the MOD function to perform that calculation. To understand it in a better way you can read the article here.

  • We can use the MOD function to perform operations on the alternate rows. The following function is used to perform the conversion:
=MOD(ROW(), 2) = 0 (even)
=MOD(ROW(), 2) = 1 (odd)

We know that any 2 consecutive integers will have an odd as well as an even number. We can simply use this idea to apply the MOD function to separate the odd and even indexes. To understand it in a better way you can read the article here.

Apart from learning how to use the mod function to find the remainder in Google Sheets, we have also learned about the real life use cases of the MOD function.

Conclusion

Through this easy-to-understand tutorial, we have successfully learned how to use the MOD function to find the remainder in Google Sheets. Being able to use arithmetic functions in Google Sheets is an absolute plus. You are now all set to use this function to your advantage.

See Also

You have learned how to use the MOD function to find the remainder in Google Sheets. Are you interested in learning more about how much you can succeed with Google Sheets? With so many powerful features of Google Sheets, you save time and effort.

We have several tutorials that cover tricks and tips in Google Sheets. You can discover them here.

Here are some articles you might be interested in:

https://blog.tryamigo.com/how-to-use-sort-function-in-google-sheets/

https://blog.tryamigo.com/sort-query-using-order-by-in-google-sheets/

https://blog.tryamigo.com/introduction-to-date-function-in-google-sheets/

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