One formula, copied across a four-by-six grid, prices every catering quote in this IT153 Unit 3 example, its dollar signs placed so each reference holds or moves on purpose. Searches like "it 153 unit 3 assignment example", "it153 unit 3 sample" and "it153 unit 3 example" land here.
What a finished IT153 Unit 3 cell reference exercise looks like
An inputs area at the top holds the service charge rate in C2, 18 percent, and the deposit rate in C3, 25 percent, each labeled. The quote grid starts at row 6: menu styles in A7 to A10, buffet, family style, plated and stations, with per-guest prices in column B, and guest counts of 25, 50, 75, 100, 150 and 200 across C6 to H6. Every grid cell holds the same formula, =$B7*C$6*(1+$C$2), so the price column, the guest-count row and the service rate stay anchored while everything else adjusts. A second grid below repeats the layout for deposits, multiplying each quote by $C$3. Currency formatting runs throughout, and a thick border frames each grid. A References sheet walks through the formula one dollar sign at a time.
How a IT153 Unit 3 example is structured
The file is built to show that the placement of a dollar sign is a decision, not decoration. Inputs that every quote shares, the service and deposit rates, sit in their own labeled cells above the grids and are referenced absolutely, so a rate change reprices the whole sheet from one cell. The grid formula uses mixed references because each cell needs one value from its own row and one from its own column: $B7 locks the price column while letting the row move, and C$6 locks the guest-count row while letting the column move. The deposit grid refers to the quote grid cell for cell with relative references, which is correct there, and the References sheet explains why that one should move. A check cell at the bottom recomputes one quote from its inputs in a separate formula to confirm the grid.
Inputs above the grid
Service charge and deposit rates in C2 and C3, labeled, formatted as percentages, and referenced absolutely everywhere they are used. No rate is typed inside any formula, so repricing the sheet takes a single edit.
The mixed-reference formula
=$B7*C$6*(1+$C$2) in C7, identical in structure across all twenty-four cells. Showing formulas reveals the pattern: the row number after B climbs, the column letter before 6 advances, and $C$2 never changes.
Deposit grid below
A second four-by-six block multiplies each quote by the deposit rate. Here plain relative references to the quote grid are the right choice, since each deposit cell should follow its own quote.
Check cell
One quote, plated for 100 guests, recalculated in a separate cell from its inputs. Matching values confirm that the grid formula resolves correctly at a point far from where it was first written.
References sheet
A written walkthrough of the grid formula, one reference at a time, with a small table showing what each reference becomes three cells away, which is exactly the test that exposes a misplaced dollar sign.
Where marks go in IT153 Unit 3
Reference exercises reward one thing above all: a formula that stays correct when copied. The characteristic failure is a grid whose first cell is right and whose other cells are wrong, because a relative reference to the rate slid off to an empty cell and quietly multiplied by zero, or because the guest-count reference drifted down into menu prices. Graders check cells far from the origin, the bottom-right corner especially. Over-anchoring fails too: $B$7 everywhere produces the buffet price in every row. Rates typed into formulas as 1.18 rather than referenced lose the input-cell row even when every result is right, and they break the moment the rate changes. Grids built from twenty-four separately written formulas may compute correctly, yet they miss the point of the unit and are often marked that way.
Get a IT153 Unit 3 example written to your instructions
Grids like this one come in many shapes, some built on markup tables, some on tax or conversion rates, so the sample follows the layout in your Unit 3 materials exactly. Include the workbook or data your IT153 section supplied with the instructions and rubric. A References sheet comes with it, delivery takes 24-48h, and the first custom sample is free.
IT153 Unit 3 questions, answered
When do I use an absolute reference instead of a relative one?
Use an absolute reference when every copy of the formula must point at the same cell, such as a single tax or service rate. Use relative references when each copy should point at its own row or column of data. A mixed reference locks only the row or only the column, which is what two-way grids like pricing or multiplication tables need.
Why is my copied formula returning zero?
Usually because a reference that should have stayed fixed moved with the copy and now points at an empty cell, which Excel treats as zero in multiplication. Showing formulas, or reading the references in one of the copied cells, reveals where it points. A dollar sign on the drifting part of the reference, the column, the row or both, keeps it anchored.
Will my instructor check every cell in the grid?
Rarely every cell, but graders commonly test the ones most likely to break: the last row, the last column and the far corner. Some also change an input, such as the rate, and watch whether the whole grid responds. A grid that passes those checks is almost always correct throughout, which is why the sample includes a check cell of its own.