Challenge 2: Tracing a Mixed Reference Through a Copy — Solution Walkthrough

Original formula in C5:
  =$A5*B$2

Copied to D6, the formula becomes:
  =$A6*C$2

Explanation, part by part:

$A5 (column locked, row relative):
  The copy moves 1 column right (C -> D) and 1 row down (5 -> 6).
  Because the column is locked with $, it stays "A" regardless of the
  move. The row is NOT locked, so it shifts along with the copy: 5
  becomes 6. Result: $A6.

B$2 (row locked, column relative):
  The row is locked with $, so it stays "2" no matter where the
  formula is copied to. The column is NOT locked, so it shifts along
  with the copy: the formula moved 1 column right (C -> D), so B also
  moves 1 column right, becoming C. Result: C$2.

Putting both pieces back together gives the new formula in D6:
  =$A6*C$2

Notes:
- The general rule this exercise demonstrates: a $ freezes ONLY the
  single letter or number directly after it — everything else in
  that reference still moves normally with the copy, exactly the
  same shift amount (in rows and columns) that the whole formula
  itself moved by.
- This is the identical mechanism behind the multiplication-table
  formula in this chapter's own Mixed References section and in
  Exercise 3 — one reference locked by column, the other locked by
  row, so the formula behaves correctly in both fill directions.