SpreadsheetBasics

What is a Spreadsheet?

A spreadsheet (or worksheet) is an arrangement of cells in columns and rows used to organize, analyze, calculate, and report information, usually in numerical form. A workbook is a file which contains one or more spreadsheets.

Spreadsheets Perform Mathematical Calculations

Do you or your family use spreadsheets?

Daily Uses of Spreadsheets:– Balancing a checkbook– Calculating car loans– Calculating student grades (helping students keep

up with their grades)– Household budgets

Why would a business use spreadsheets?

– Payroll– Financial statements for a business (profit/loss) 2

Designing a SpreadsheetCell – individual locations on a spreadsheet

(intersection of a row and column)

– Column— identified by letters of the alphabet (vertical)

• Column A refers to all of the contents in a vertical range of cells in the first column of the spreadsheet.

– Row— identified by numbers (horizontal)• Row 3 refers to all of the contents in a horizontal range of

cells on Row 3A B C D

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2 CELL

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ROWS (horizontal)

COLUMNS (vertical)

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Cell SpecificsCell Range:• A4:A16 refers to a group of adjacent cells

• A Range is a group/block of cells.• example: A6:E16 refers to a range of cells in a specific

spreadsheet.

Cell Address: a specific location• Cell A4 = Cell address

• It is the Column letter and Row number. • The cell address is also called the cell reference.

Active cell:• The cell that is selected• It is the cell that is ready to receive information

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Cell Data Classifications

• Values — the classification indicating that the data has the potential to be used in calculations

Example: 150

Cell Alignment for these classifications:• Labels align at the left side of the cell

• Values align at the right side of the cell

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Cell Data Classifications

• Labels — the classification used for cells that contain text or for numbers that will not be used in calculations

Examples: John Jones (text) Dates, such as 1/03/2009 (considered as text)Social Security #Phone #ZIP Code (a number, but will not be calculated)

Using an apostrophe ‘Type an apostrophe (‘) before a number to make that entry

recognized as a label (the ‘ does not show when you press enter). Example: ‘27613

(Put ‘ so the ZIP Code is recognized as a label or text, not a value, by the computer)

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Data Types Examples

Label

Value

Formula

Formula Bar

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• Formatting is applied to spreadsheet components for the purpose of organizing and clarifying information.

• Data that is presented in a uniform and consistent format is much easier to understand than data presented with random formats.

• Formatting can be applied to pages, columns, rows, cell ranges, and cells.

Formatting

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• Headers or Footers are used to add identifying information to a spreadsheet.– May include:

• Title of company• Date• Page number• Time of creation or update• Contact information

A Header/Footer

Footer Example

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• Font Size and Font Style are used to clarify information by adding emphasis to titles, column headings, and grand totals, etc.– can also change font type and color

Example: which title below is emphasized more?

Font Size and Style

Title of SpreadsheetTitle of Spreadsheetor

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– Left, Right, or Center justification can be applied globally to columns, rows, or cells.

• Indent is used to emphasize subcategories

Justification/Alignments

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1. Left Justification – Left is the default justification for cells formatted as Labels.

2. Indent– Indent is a format applied to cell data to emphasize subcategories, such as the itemized list of expenses in a budget

Types of Justification

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3. Right Justification – Right is the default justification for cells formatted as Values.

a. Values should be formatted uniformly, such as, using two decimal places for all

like data, or using currency for total amountsEx. $500 vs. $500.00

b. Values can be formatted for a set number of decimal places with or without a comma separator.

Ex. $1024.30 or $1,024.30

Types of Justification

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[Right Justification (continued) ]

c. Values can be formatted in a variety of date formats Ex. October 30, 2009

30 Oct 200910/30/09

d. Other formats for Values include time, percentage, fraction, and scientific

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4. Center–

Centering is a format usually applied to titles and column headings

Types of Justification

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Justification Examples

• Left Aligned (text)– Column heading– Listed Items

• Right Aligned (values)– Quantity– Numbers with

decimals (Prices)

Centering of the Table Title

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Borders and Shading

• are used to emphasize and organize information, and

• can be applied to columns, rows, cell ranges, or individual cells

These lines are Borders!

• Reminder: select the columns, rows, or cells on which you want to apply Borders and Shading

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• Wrap text is used to align multi-line text within a cell.

• Merge is used to combine two or more cells.– Center is the default alignment when cells are

merged.

Adjusting Height, Width, and Size of Cells, Columns, and Rows

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• Column Width

– Column Width is adjusted to fit the longest entry.

– Double click on the border between the 2 column heading

– When the ##### symbols appear in a cell, this indicates that the width is too small to display the contents.

Adjusting Height, Width, and Size of Cells, Columns, and Rows

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Sorts

A Sort is used to arrange data in alphabetical or chronological order– data can be sorted in

Ascending or Descending Order

Examples of: Alphabetical order—Ascending A to ZAlphabetical order—Descending Z to A

Numerical order—Ascending 1 to 10Numerical order—Descending 10 to 1

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Sorts

• Primary sort – indicates the primary sort range of data (i.e., last name)

– also known as a single sort• Secondary sort – indicates the next sort range of

date (i.e., first name) – also known as a multiple sort

Examples of primary and secondary sort:Smith, ChrisSmith, RyanStevens, John

Can you answer this question?:Mr. Smith sorted the student athletes in order by GPA, last name, first name, and homeroom.

GPA is an example of which part of the sort operation?_________________________

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Basic Spreadsheet Formulas

All Formulas begin with an equal sign =

When the equal sign [or in some cases a plus sign(+)] is keyed in a cell, the software “knows” that the data will be used in a calculation.

Formulas instruct the software to perform a calculation.

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Basic Spreadsheet Formulas

Examples of basic formulas:if using Cells B7 and C7:

Addition =B7+C7Subtraction =B7-C7Multiplication =B7*C7Division =B7/C7

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Order of OperationsCalculations are performed according to the Order of

Operations.(which means, they calculate in a specific order)

To remember the Order Of Operations: remember PEMDAS—Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

P parentheses performs operations on the items enclosed in (parentheses) first

E exponentiation ^M multiplication * (from left to right)

D division /A addition + (from left to right)

S subtraction -

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Order of Operation Example=(A8+C9)/(H8-L9)

The parentheses around the first part of the formula force Excel to calculate (A8+C9) first. then calculate (H8-L9),then divide the 2 results.

A8 = 10C9 = 2H8 = 7L9 = 1

SOLVE!=(10+2)/(7-1)=12/6

=2

Functions

• Functions: is a short cut to performing a calculation or a formula

• All functions contain a word– Start with an = sign just like a Formula

• Examples:

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• SUM • AVG• MIN• MAX• IF

• COUNT• LOOKUP• DATE • LIST

Most commonly used Formulas

• SUM - Used for finding a total in a range of numbers

• AVG - Used to find the average in a range of numbers (add all numbers and divide by the #)

• MAX -Finds the largest # in a range

• MIN- -Finds the smallest # in the range

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