What does a relative reference do when copied to another cell?

A relative reference is a fundamental concept in spreadsheet applications, such as Excel, which governs how cell references behave when a formula is copied from one location to another within the spreadsheet. When a relative reference is used in a formula, and that formula is copied to a new cell, the reference adjusts dynamically according to the new location of the formula.

This means that if a formula with a relative reference is moved down one row, for instance, the reference will also shift down along with it. For example, if a cell contains the formula =A1 + B1 and it is copied one row down to the next cell, the new formula will automatically adjust to =A2 + B2. This feature allows for efficient data manipulation and calculation, particularly when handling large data sets where similar calculations need to be performed across multiple rows or columns.

This dynamic updating capability of relative references is what makes them particularly useful in spreadsheet applications, as users can create formulas without having to manually change the cell references each time a formula is copied to a new location, ensuring consistency and accuracy in calculations across related data points.