SPREADSHEETS

OBJECTIVES

To Learn all features of spreadsheets To Understand spread sheets terminologies To Use of formulas To Use of functions To Learn data manipulation among others

INTRODUCTION TO SPREAD SHEETS

• A modern spreadsheet file consists of multiple worksheets (usually called by the shorter name sheets) that make up one workbook, with each file being one workbook.

Primary function of Spreadsheet • Spreadsheet - Primary function is to perform

calculations that may involve mathematical, financial, or scientific data.

TYPICAL USES FOR SPREADSHEETS

Budgets ~ Financial/Accounting Reports ~ Taxes ~ Students' Grades ~ Columns of Text ~ Graphs

MICROSOFT EXCEL• Microsoft Excel is a commercial spreadsheet application

written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.

It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications. It has been a very widely applied spreadsheet for these platforms.

• MS. Excel is the program we use to work with spreadsheets.• An Excel file consists of two parts:  worksheets and workbooks.• Worksheets are the actual spreadsheets that contain the data in

which you can organize and manipulate.• Workbooks are the entire Excel files.  Workbooks can have

multiple worksheets or as few as one.  Each worksheet in a workbook will have a unique name that can be accessed on the tabs at the bottom of the screen.

PARTS OF THE SPREADSHEET

~ Columns • - Vertical areas of the spreadsheet • - They are labeled A-Z, AA-AZ, BA-BZ, etc... • - 256 Columns in MS Excel ~ Rows • - Horizontal areas of the spreadsheet • - Labeled Numerically 1…….65,536 Rows in MS

Excel ~ Cell • - Rectangular area in which a row and column

intersect. Cells are specified by the intersection of the column letter and row number such as F9.

DEFINITIONS

~ Cell Address • - A description of which row and

column intersect to form the cell. Cell A1 is the address for the first cell in the first row and first column

~ Name Box • - The area that displays the address

of the active cell ~ Formula Bar • - The area that displays the contents

of the active cell. You may edit your data here

• Ranges; which are a group of cells specified by the address of the upper left cell and lower right cell separated by a full colon.

~ Active Cell • - The selected cell with

the heavy border around it

TRIAL EXERCISE

Put the field names in topmost row of the worksheet.

Do not have any blank rows or columns.

SPREADSHEET FORMULAS

* An instruction to calculate a number * The formula is entered in the cell where the

answer should appear * After you hit the "Enter" key, the answer is

displayed in the active cell while the formula remains visible in the formula bar

ARITHMETIC OPERATIONS IN CELLS

In the event that one needs to weight a cell differently, arithmetic operators can be used with cell addresses to accomplish this task. The operators are:

Addition + Multiplication * (shift-* asterisk on the

keyboard) Subtraction - Division / Exponentiation ^ (shift-6 on the keyboard)*The four math operations are: + for add; - for

subtract; * for multiplication; / for divide

TWO RULES WHEN CREATING FORMULAS:

~ A formula always starts with = ~ A formula uses cell addresses, not the values

themselves. (This way, if the values in the cell locations change, the answer will automatically change.)

Eg =j1+L2

values, such as 2, 9.14 or 6.67E-11; References to other cells, such as, A1 for a single cell

or B1:B3 for a range; arithmetic operators, such as +, -, *, /, and others; relational operators, such as >=, <, and others; and, Functions, such as SUM(), TAN(),MIN(),MAX() and

many others.

SPREADSHEET FUNCTIONS

* Built-in formulas that perform special calculations automatically.

- Sum functions add up a column of figures. - Average functions average a group of numbers. 

(AVERAGE) eg =averagr(F2:H2) then press enter after completing the formula.

Note that there are NO spaces in a formula. The average function averages all the cells from F2 to H2 is called a "range." A range includes all of the cells between the cells. A range can be a portion of a row, a portion of a column, or a rectangular area of a spreadsheet.

:

COPYING A FORMULA DOWN A COLUMN

To copy the formula down the Avg column there are at least three methods

using the fill handle Click in M2. Roll the cursor over the lower right hand

corner of M2, directly over the small black square . The cursor should turn into a solid black bold plus sign. The small black square is called the smart-fill control or the "fill handle". Click directly on the small black square and drag down to fill the formula down the Avg column

SECOND WAY

Click in the center of M2, drag down to the bottom of the student list. Then:

a. Use the key combination Control-D to fill down. This invokes a non-smart fill down and is useful when Excel insists on creating an undesired series of increasing values during a smart-fill. ORb. Use the menu sequence Edit: Fill: Down

THIRD WAY

For those who prefer the keyboard: Click in the center of M2. Release the mouse

button. Hold down the shift key and use the down arrow to select the portion of the Avg column with the student list. Then:

a. Use the key combination Control-D to fill down. This invokes a non-smart fill down and is useful when Excel insists on creating an undesired series of increasing values during a smart-fill.

ORb. Use the menu sequence Edit: Fill: Down

FUNCTIONS Count functions count all the blank spaces in

the range. - Minimum functions indicate the lowest value

in the range. (MIN) - Maximum functions indicate the highest

value in the range.  (MAX) - The IF STATEMENT is a logical function

which sets up a conditional statement to test data.  the truth or falsity of the condition will determine the results of the statement. 

* Functions always start with =

Functions are built in formulas that perform special calculations automatically.

* Functions may be used by itself or combined with other functions.  Excel provides many functions, some of which are used for statistical and financial analysis, while others are used in database operations.  A function may be entered using the keyboard, the mouse or a combination of both.  

* Example:  to add cells=B2 + B3 + B4 + B5 + B6 you could use the function:

=SUM(B2:B:6)

OTHER FUNCTIONS

Functions that could be put in M2 (or any other column to the right) and filled down include:

=average(J2:L2) Finds the mean of the values in the range.=count(J2:L2) The number of cells containing values in the range.=max(J2:L2) Displays the smallest value in the range.=median(J2:L2) Returns the median of the range.=min(J2:L2) Displays the smallest value in the range.

=mode(J2:L2) Returns the most common value in a range.=stdev(J2:L2) Displays the standard deviation of the range.=sum(J2:L2) Returns the sum of the values in a range.

FUNCTIONS…

Suppose test T1 and test T2 are worth 25% each, and test T3 is 50% of the student’s grade. Then the following formula would be used in M2:

=0.25*J2+0.25*K2+0.50*L2 Type this formula in M2 and fill down. Do not forget

the leading equals sign! Remember, there are NO spaces in any formula.

Mathematical operators can be combined with functions to perform complex calculations. Suppose that one wanted to toss out the lowest test and find the average of the remaining two tests. The formula to do this would be:

=(sum(J2:L2)-min(J2:L2))/2

FUNCTIONS…

Enter this formula into M2 and fill down. This formula would work for three tests, it could

be generalized to work for any number of tests with the following formula:

=(sum(J2:L2)-min(J2:L2))/(count(J2:L2)-1) Enter this formula into M2 and fill down. Be

careful when typing parentheses!