VLOOKUP

This function looks for a value in the first column of a table or array and returns the value from the same row or for the row you specify. 

Syntax

VLOOKUP(lookup-expression,search-range,column-offset,{method})

Arguments

lookup-expression	The value you are looking for.  This can be a number, text string, or reference.
search-range	The range to search.
column-offset	By default, the function searches the first column of the range defined by search-range.  However, use column-offset to instruct the lookup to search a different column.  The first column in the range is always 1, the second is 2, and so forth. If this value is less then 1 or greater than the number of columns in the defined range, then the function returns the error #REF!
method	he method of searching for the value.  The default is 1. If method < 0 Assumes decreasing values. Returns the smallest value that is greater than or equal to lookup-expression value. If method is 0 Returns first exact match. If method > 0 Assumes increasing values. Returns the largest value equal to lookup-expression value.

Example

VLOOKUP(500,A2..F5,2)

This function searches cells B2, B3, B4, and B5 for the value 500.  Column B is searched since it is the second column in the range A2 through F5