Crispo - Excel Challenge 02 2026

excel-challenges
weekly-exercises
Easy Sunday Excel Challenge
Published

January 11, 2026

Illustration for Crispo - Excel Challenge 02 2026

Challenge Description

Easy Sunday Excel Challenge

⭐ ⭐Count the Duplicates

Solutions

library(tidyverse)
library(readxl)

path <- "2026-01-11/Challenge 90.xlsx"
input <- read_excel(path, range = "B4:C12", col_types = c("text", "numeric"))
test <- read_excel(path, range = "F4:G8", col_names = c("Item", "Answer"))

result = input %>%
  summarise(Answer = ifelse(n() > 1, n(), Date), .by = Item) %>%
  arrange(Item)

all.equal(result, test, check.attributes = FALSE)
# First answer is not correct.

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook range needed for the challenge

    • Aggregates or ranks values at the correct grouping level

  • Strengths:

    • The R solution stays compact and mirrors the workbook logic closely.

  • Areas for Improvement:

    • The code assumes the workbook layout and named ranges remain stable.

  • Gem:

    • The best part of the solution is choosing a tidy intermediate shape before producing the final answer.
import pandas as pd

path = "2026-01-11/Challenge 90.xlsx"
input = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="B:C", skiprows=3, nrows=8, dtype={"Item": str})
test = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="F:G", skiprows=3, nrows=5, names=["Item", "Answer"], header=None, dtype={"Item": str})


result = (
    input.groupby("Item", as_index=False)
    .agg(Answer=("Date", lambda x: len(x) if len(x) > 1 else x.iloc[0]))
    .sort_values("Item")
)
print(result.equals(test))
# First answer is not correct.

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook range needed for the challenge

    • Aggregates or ranks values at the correct grouping level

  • Strengths:

    • The Python version keeps the same rule in a direct pandas-oriented workflow.

  • Areas for Improvement:

    • As with the R version, any workbook layout change would require small adjustments.

  • Gem:

    • The implementation stays close to the stated challenge instead of adding unnecessary complexity.

Difficulty Level

This task is easy to moderate:

  • The business rule is readable, but the workbook still needs a few careful transformation steps.