Bottom Line: Take the challenge to write a formula to determine when a vehicle can enter the national park, according to park rules.
Skill Level: Advanced
Watch the Video
Download the Excel File
You can use this worksheet to write your formula in. It contains sample license plate numbers for you to work with, as well as an answer key to see if your solution works.
Up for a Challenge?
Greetings from beautiful Yellowstone National Park!
It seems that even when I'm on vacation, my mind is in Excel mode. (Don't you feel sorry for my wife? 😂)
Here's what I mean. Some weeks ago, Yellowstone experienced some devastating flooding that wiped out roads and bridges.
As a result of the flooding, access to the park was restricted to reduce the number of visitors on any given day. The system they put in place is based on visitor license plates.
Plates that end in odd numbers can enter on odd dates and plates that end in even numbers can enter on even dates. Simple enough.
What if your personalized plate doesn't end in a number? Then entry is determined by the last numerical digit found in your plate, wherever that may land.
What if you don't have any digits on your plate at all? Then you get to enter on an odd date. Here are the official park rules for the Alternating License Plate System:
Seeing these rules immediately had me thinking of building a formula in a spreadsheet.
The Challenge
Can you write a formula that assesses a license plate combination and returns the word EVEN or ODD based on the rules above?
To solve the challenge, just download the Excel file up above and start writing your formula!
Share Your Answer
Please leave a comment on the YouTube video or blog post with your formula solution. I look forward to seeing your solutions and this will be a great learning opportunity for everyone.
Another Way To Solve The Problem
We also found bison out on the road checking plate numbers. They use horns instead of formulas to regulate unwelcome guests… 😬
Similar Posts
If you enjoy challenges like these, you can check out some of the challenges I've posted in the past.
- Baby Shower Guessing Game
- Equal Playing Time
- Seating Chart Planner
- Data Cleansing: Convert Text to Time Values
Conclusion
I'll be back in a few weeks to walk you through possible solutions based on your feedback. Until then, enjoy the challenge!
this is what I came up with: “=IF(ISNUMBER(VALUE(RIGHT(A1,1))), IF(VALUE(RIGHT(A1,1))=0, “Even”, IF(ISODD(VALUE(RIGHT(A1,1))), “Odd”, “Even”)), “Odd”)”
it looks like it worked correctly.