UNDERSTANDING SPREADSHEETS
Sunday, 3 November 2024 11:24 PM
• SPREADSHEET
○ program that displays data in a table (worksheet)
○ For:
budgets
financial statements
inventory management
charts
• WORKSHEET
○ grid with columns and rows
• CELL
○ intersection of a row and column
○ Type:
label
value
formula
• CELL RANGE
○ group of cells that are closely together
• COLUMNS
○ vertical arrangements of cells
○ identified by letters
• ROWS
○ horizontal
○ identified by numbers
• WORKSHEET TAB
○ tab that identifies each open worksheets
○ located in the lower left corner of the screen
• EXCEL 2003: 256 columns; 65,536 rows
• EXCEL 2007: 16,384 columns; 1,048,576 rows
• CELL ADDRESS (REFERENCE)
○ combination of column letter and row number
○ A1, B2
• NAME BOX
○ displays the name of the active cell or range
• FORMULA BAR
○ displays the data or formula stored in the active cell
• ACTIVE CELL
○ cell you are currently working
○ surrounded by a black border
• FUNCTION
○ built-in formula that is a shortcut for common calculations
• OPERATION SYMBOLS
○ instruct the computer as to what mathematical operations to perform
○ add +
○ subtract -
○ multiply *
○ division /
• ORDER OF OPERATIONS/FORMULAS (PEMDAS)
a. Parentheses
b. Exponents
c. Multiplication
d. Division
e. Addition
f. Subtraction
• COLUMN WIDTH TOOL
○ tool that changes the width of the columns on a spreadsheet or worksheet
• ROW HEIGHT TOOL
○ changes the height of rows on a spreadsheet
• FILL HANDLE TOOL
○ used to copy data and formulas to another cell
• AUTO SUM TOOL
○ automatically creates a formula to add a series of numbers in a spreadsheet
• CHART
○ graphic representations
• SORTING
○ organizing or rearranging data in either ascending or descending order
○ ascending = A-Z, or smallest to largest
○ descending = Z-A, or largest to smallest
• FORMULA ERRORS:
1. #### (railroad tracks error)
column is not wide enough
2. #REF!
cell reference is not valid (may be deleted or pasted over incorrectly)
3. #NAME?
misspellling has occurred in a function name
A. PIVOT TABLE
○ special tool to summarize, explore large sets of data interactively
○ once you create a pivot table, you can quickly transform huge numbers of rows and
columns into a meaningful, nicely formatted report
○ make your worksheets more manageable by summarizing data and allowing you to
manipulate it in different ways
○ instantly calculate and summarize the data in a way that will make it much easier to read
B. WHAT-IF ANALYSIS
○ process of changing the values in cells to see how those changes will affect the outcome of
formulas
○ help you experiment and answer questions with your data
i. GOAL SEEK
whenever you create a formula or function, you put various parts together to
calculate a result
works in the opposite way: lets you start with the desired result and it calculates the
input value that will give you that result
e.g., find out what grade we need on the final exam to pass; figure out how many
people to invite
ii. SCENARIOS AND DATA TABLES
these options allow you to test multiple values and see how the results change
SCENARIOS: let you substitute values for multiple cells at the same time; create as
many scenarios as you want and then compare them without changing the values
manually
DATA TABLES: allows you to take one or two variables in a formula and replace them
with as many different values as you want, then view the results in a table; shows
multiple results at the same time
EXCEL: BASIC TIPS FOR WORKING WITH DATA
1. FREEZING ROWS AND COLUMNS
○ scroll through your content while continuing to view the frozen cells
2. FILTERING DATA
○ used to narrow down the data in your worksheet
○ view only the information you need
3. SORTING DATA
○ quickly reorganize a worksheet by sorting your data
○ content can be sorted alphabetically, numerically, and in several other ways
4. FORMATTING DATA AS A TABLE
○ tables can improve the look and feel of your workbook
○ help organize your content and make your data easier to use
