Introduction to spreadsheets

IT 8/9Edmond Chin

Microsoft Excel

What is Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel is a software to create an electronic spreadsheet used for financial planning and budgeting (to keep track of numbers and data).

A spreadsheet is divided into rows and columns with each row and column assigned a heading.

Columns are given alphabetic headings from A to Z; continues from AA to AZ; BA to BZ; and so on until ZZ; then AAA, AAB and so on.

Rows are given numeric headings.

Cell• The intersection of a row and column is called a cell. • The number of cells in a spreadsheet equal the number of

rows multiplied by the number of columns. • Example: A spreadsheet consisting of 5 rows and 7 columns

would consist of 35 cells with each cell having a unique cell reference.

5 Rows

7 Columns

Cell Reference

The cell at the intersection of column B and row 2 is known as cell B2. In the cell reference, the column heading precedes the row heading.

Formulas and Constants• A constant is an entry that does not change (although you can

edit the content of a cell). • It may be a number such as the cost of one’s flight ticket or a

descriptive text such as the name of an Airline.

Constant

Formulas and Constants• A formula is a combination of numeric constants, cell

references, arithmetic operators, and/or functions that displays result of a calculation. Example: The formula,

=AVERAGE(B3:B7) is an average function interpreted to mean the average of all cells starting at cell B3 and ending at cell B7. This is equivalent to the formula =(B3+B4+B5+B6+B7)/5.

More on Formulas

A formula always begins with an equal sign. • Example: consider the formula =(A4 + B4 + C4)/3. This

will compute the average of A4 to C4.• Excel uses the symbols +, -, *, /, and ^ to indicate

addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and exponentiation respectively. It follows the same arithmetic rules (BEDMAS).

More on Formulas The formula =SUM(B3:B7) is the addition function

interpreted to mean the sum of all cells starting at cell B3 and ending at cell B7.

Terms Let’s take a quick look at some of the terms:

The black border around cell B9 indicates that it is the active cell. Any entry or edit made at this time is made into the active cell. Cell B9 displays the value of $1672 but the cell contains a formula rather than the number itself. The contents of the active cell, =(B3+B4+B5+B6+B7)/5 or =AVERAGE(B3:B7) are displayed in the formula bar near the top of the worksheet.

The cell reference for the active cell appears in the Name box. The status bar keeps you informed of what is happening.

Terms

A workbook can contain several worksheets.

Name of workbook

Worksheet tabs

Shortcuts

Excel can recognize patterns and make certain tasks easier by using the fill handle. The fill handle is the tiny black square that appears in the lower right corner of the selected cell.

Assignment Exercise

Download the Excel Assignment and fill in the missing rows and columns using formulas.