MIN() – Finds the lowest number in a range

The MIN() function returns the smallest numeric value from a specified range of cells.

Syntax

MIN(range)

range: A continuous range of cells from which you want to find the minimum numeric value (e.g., T1A1:T1A10).

Basic example

MIN(T1A1:T1A10)

This formula finds the smallest number in cells T1A1 through T1A10.

Example outputs:

If cells T1A1:T1A10 contain [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10], the formula returns 1.
If cells T1A1:T1A5 contain [10, "text", 50, empty_cell, 25], the formula returns 10.
If cells T1A1:T1A3 contain [-10, -5, -20], the formula returns -20.
If cells T1A1:T1A4 contain [5, 0, 15, 2], the formula returns 0.

Key features

Smallest numeric value: Identifies and returns the lowest number within the given range.
Ignores text: Text values within the range are ignored and do not affect the result.
Ignores empty cells: Blank cells within the range are ignored.

Practical uses

Finding the lowest score on a test or the minimum value in a series of measurements.
Identifying the smallest sale amount or the minimum temperature recorded.

Common mistakes

Incorrect range specification: Ensure the range is correctly defined.
Numbers formatted as text: If numbers are stored as text and not automatically converted by MathGrid for comparison, they will be ignored, potentially leading to an incorrect minimum value being returned.
Empty or all-text range: If the range contains no numeric values (all cells are empty or contain text), MIN() will return an error.