Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate Analyze Data to Answer Questions Syllabus

Analyze Data to Answer Questions syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Analyze Data to Answer Questions in Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Organize Data to Begin Analysis

   3 topics

   • Sorting data in spreadsheets and SQL
   • Filtering for analysis
   • Converting and formatting data types
2. 2

   Formatting and Adjusting Data

   3 topics

   • Data conversion techniques
   • Working with strings and dates
   • Combining data from multiple sources
3. 3

   Aggregating Data for Analysis

   3 topics

   • Aggregation functions
   • Pivot tables in spreadsheets
   • VLOOKUP and data merging
4. 4

   Performing Data Calculations

   3 topics

   • Spreadsheet formulas and functions
   • Calculations and subqueries in SQL
   • Temporary tables and CTEs

Analyze Data to Answer Questions flashcards for Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate

23 of 50 cards from the Analyze Data to Answer Questions deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. In data analysis, what is the difference between sorting and filtering data?

   Sorting rearranges all data into a meaningful order (e.g., ascending or descending) while keeping every row visible; filtering shows only the rows that meet specified criteria and temporarily hides the rest. Sorting organizes data, filtering reduces it to what is relevant.

2. In spreadsheets, what is the difference between 'Sort sheet' and 'Sort range'?

   'Sort sheet' sorts all data in the spreadsheet by the ranking of one specific column, keeping rows intact so data across rows stays together. 'Sort range' sorts only a selected cell range, leaving everything outside that range unchanged.

3. Which SQL clause is used to sort query results, and what are its two ordering keywords?

   The ORDER BY clause. ASC sorts in ascending order (the default) and DESC sorts in descending order. Example: SELECT * FROM sales ORDER BY revenue DESC;

4. In SQL, where must the ORDER BY clause appear in a query, and can it sort by multiple columns?

   ORDER BY is written as the last clause of the query (after FROM, WHERE, GROUP BY, HAVING). Yes — you can list multiple columns separated by commas; results are sorted by the first column, then ties are broken by the next, e.g., ORDER BY state ASC, revenue DESC.

5. What is the SORT function in Google Sheets and what is its basic syntax?

   SORT returns the rows of a range sorted by the values in one or more columns, without altering the original data. Syntax: =SORT(range, sort_column, is_ascending), e.g., =SORT(A2:D10, 2, TRUE) sorts by column 2 ascending.

6. Which SQL clause filters rows based on a condition, and what is an example?

   The WHERE clause. It returns only rows meeting the condition, e.g., SELECT * FROM customers WHERE state = 'CA'; Comparison operators include =, <>, <, >, <=, >=, plus LIKE, IN, BETWEEN, and IS NULL.

7. How do the SQL operators AND, OR, and NOT differ when filtering with WHERE?

   AND returns rows only when all conditions are true; OR returns rows when at least one condition is true; NOT returns rows where the condition is false (negates it). They can be combined with parentheses to control evaluation order.

8. What does the SQL LIKE operator do, and what do the wildcards % and _ mean?

   LIKE filters text by pattern matching in a WHERE clause. The percent sign % matches any number of characters (including zero), and the underscore _ matches exactly one character. Example: WHERE name LIKE 'Ch%' matches Charlie and Chen.

9. In SQL, what is the difference between WHERE and HAVING?

   WHERE filters individual rows before grouping and cannot use aggregate functions; HAVING filters groups after GROUP BY and is used with aggregates, e.g., HAVING COUNT(*) > 10.

10. What is the difference between a filter and a filter view (or slicer) in spreadsheets?

    A regular filter changes what everyone sees on the shared sheet by hiding non-matching rows. A filter view (Google Sheets) or slicer lets you filter and view data without changing what collaborators see — the underlying display for others is unaffected.

11. What are the common data types an analyst must distinguish when converting and formatting data?

    Text (string), number (integer and floating point/decimal), Boolean (TRUE/FALSE), and date/datetime. Correct typing matters because calculations, sorting, and joins behave differently — e.g., numbers stored as text sort as '1, 10, 2' instead of $1, 2, 10$.

12. What does the SQL CAST function do, and what is its syntax?

    CAST converts a value from one data type to another. Syntax: CAST(expression AS target_type), e.g., CAST(purchase_price AS FLOAT64) converts a string price to a floating-point number so it can be sorted and calculated numerically.

13. How does SAFE_CAST differ from CAST in BigQuery?

    CAST throws an error and stops the query if a value cannot be converted (e.g., casting 'apple' to a date). SAFE_CAST returns NULL for values that fail to convert instead of producing an error, letting the query complete.

14. Why is it a problem when numeric data is stored as text (strings), and how can you detect it in a spreadsheet?

    Numbers stored as text cannot be summed, averaged, or sorted numerically, and formulas may silently ignore them. In spreadsheets, text is usually left-aligned by default while numbers are right-aligned, which is a quick visual clue; the VALUE function or re-formatting fixes it.

15. What does the SQL CONCAT function do? Give an example.

    CONCAT joins two or more strings into one string. Example: CONCAT(first_name, ' ', last_name) returns the full name. In spreadsheets the equivalent is CONCATENATE or the & operator.

16. What spreadsheet function converts a text string that looks like a number, date, or time into an actual numeric value?

    The VALUE function, e.g., =VALUE("123.45") returns the number 123.45. It is used to fix numbers that were imported or stored as text so they can be used in calculations.

17. What do the SPLIT function (spreadsheets) and the general concept of string splitting accomplish?

    SPLIT divides text around a specified delimiter and places each piece in a separate cell, e.g., =SPLIT(A1, ",") breaks a comma-separated value into columns. It is used to separate combined fields such as 'City, State' into individual analyzable columns.

18. Which spreadsheet functions extract characters from the left side, right side, or middle of a text string?

    LEFT(text, n) returns the first n characters; RIGHT(text, n) returns the last n characters; MID(text, start, n) returns n characters beginning at a given position. Example: =LEFT("2024-Order", 4) returns "2024".

19. What does the LEN function do in spreadsheets, and how is it useful in data cleaning and analysis?

    LEN(text) returns the number of characters in a string, including spaces. It is used to validate fixed-length fields (e.g., checking that every product code has exactly 6 characters) and to detect extra spaces or malformed entries.

20. What is the difference between the FIND and SEARCH functions in spreadsheets?

    Both return the starting position of one text string inside another, but FIND is case-sensitive while SEARCH is not (and SEARCH allows wildcards in Excel). Example: =FIND("Data", A1) fails on "data" whereas =SEARCH("Data", A1) matches it.

21. What is the standard unambiguous date format used in SQL and recommended for data analysis, and why?

    The ISO 8601 format YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2026-07-02). It is unambiguous across regions (avoids MM/DD vs DD/MM confusion) and sorts chronologically even as text because year, month, and day are ordered from most to least significant.

22. In SQL, what does the EXTRACT function do with dates? Give an example.

    EXTRACT pulls a specific part (YEAR, MONTH, DAY, WEEK, HOUR, etc.) from a date or timestamp. Example: EXTRACT(YEAR FROM order_date) returns 2026 from '2026-07-02', enabling grouping and trend analysis by time period.

23. What is the difference between the DATE, DATETIME, and TIMESTAMP data types in SQL?

    DATE stores only a calendar date (YYYY-MM-DD); DATETIME stores a date plus a time of day with no time zone; TIMESTAMP stores an exact point in time, typically stored in/convertible to UTC with time-zone awareness.

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