Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Your notes

ICT
Create a Data Model
Contents
Create & Edit a Spreadsheet
Formulae & Functions
Order of Operations
Cell Referencing
Present Data
Search & Select Data

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 Create & Edit a Spreadsheet
Your notes

Create and edit a spreadsheet

What is a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet is a piece of software used to analyse, visualise and manipulate data
A spreadsheet is made up of cells, rows and columns
A cell is one box on the spreadsheet and is referenced using its cell reference (e.g. A1)
A row goes across and is referenced using the number down the side
A column goes down and is referenced using the letter at the top

Inserting and deleting cells, rows, and columns

You can alter the structure of a spreadsheet by inserting or deleting cells, rows, and
columns
This flexibility allows you to manage and organise your data effectively

Merging cells
Merging cells combines two or more cells into one larger cell
This is useful for creating headers or titles that span across multiple columns

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Creating formulae using cell references
Formulae allow you to perform calculations on your data Your notes
You can reference specific cells in your formulae to make them dynamic and adaptable

Replicating formulae using absolute and relative cell

references
Absolute cell references ($A$1) stay constant, while relative cell references (A1) change
when you copy or drag a formula

Use absolute references when you want the same cell referenced and use relative
references when you want the reference to change

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 Your notes

Use of arithmetic operators in formulae

Arithmetic operators allow you to perform basic mathematical operations in your
formulae: add (+), subtract (-), multiply (*), divide (/), and indices (^)
More information about formulae can be found on the formulae revision note

Using named cells and named ranges

Named cells:
Easily refer to a group of adjoining cells
Shortens/simplifies formulae
Enables referring to a group of cells without having to lookup cell references
Don’t have to re-set the absolute referencing manually

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 Your notes

Worked Example
Tawara school has a shop that sells items needed by pupils in school. Part of a
spreadsheet with details of the items is shown.

a. Write down the number of rows that are shown in the spreadsheet that contain text.
[1]
6 rows [1]
b. Write down the number of columns that are shown in the spreadsheet that contain
text.
[1]
8 columns [1]

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Make sure you know which way round rows and columns are - rows go across and
columns go down

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 Formulae & Functions
Your notes

Formulae
What is a formula?
A formula is a statement that performs simple calculations in a spreadsheet
Formulas start with a = sign
A formula can perform calculations using:
Numbers directly (e.g. =5*2)
Referenced data held in cells (e.g. =A1*B2)
Changing data in a cell that is being referenced in a formula will cause the formula to
automatically recalculate based on the new value
This is a core concept of spreadsheet modelling

Adding simple formulas to a spreadsheet

Arithmetic operators
Formulas will make use of basis arithmetic operators

Symbol Operation

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 + Addition
Your notes
- Subtraction

* Multiplication

/ Division

^ Indices (power of)

Functions
What is a function?
A function is a pre-defined formula that can be used to carry out more complex
calculations
Functions are built into spreadsheet software
Functions can help to simplify complex calculations
Each function has a specific name that tells the software what calculation is being
carried out

Adding functions to a spreadsheet

Function Operation

SUM Adds all the numbers in a range of cells

=SUM(A1:A10)

AVERAGE Calculates the average of a range of cells

=AVERAGE(A1:A10)

MAX and MIN Finds the largest and smallest numbers in a range respectively
=MAX(A1:A10)
=MIN(A1:A10)

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 INT Rounds a number down to the nearest integer
=INT(A1) Your notes

ROUND Rounds a number to a specified number of digits

=ROUND(A1,2) - round to 2 decimal places

COUNT Counts the number of cells in a range that contain numbers

=COUNT(A1:A10)

COUNTA Counts the number of cells in a range that contain numbers and/or labels
=COUNTA(A1:A10)

IF Returns one value if a condition is true and another if it's false

=IF(condition, true, false)
=IF(A1 ="SME",100,B7*3)

HLOOKUP Performs a horizontal look up of data

=HLOOKUP('Bananas', A2:D4, 3)

VLOOKUP Performs a vertical look up of data

=VLOOKUP(100, A2:D4, 2, TRUE)

XLOOKUP Performs either a horizontal or vertical look up of data

=XLOOKUP('Oranges', A1:A4, Sales Q3, "Not found")

Average, Max, Min & Int in a spreadsheet

Using external data sources within functions

Spreadsheets allow you to use external data sources within functions

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 This could be data from another worksheet, workbook, or even a database
Using nested functions Your notes
Nesting is using a function within another function
For example:
=IF(A1>B1, MAX(A1:B1), MIN(A1:B1))
This checks if A1 is greater than B1, and if true, it returns the max value, else it
returns the min value

Worked Example
awara school has a shop that sells items needed by pupils in school. Part of a
spreadsheet with details of the items is shown.

Tax is paid on certain items sold in the shop. The tax rate that has to be paid is 20% of
the selling price. If tax is to be paid on an item, then ‘Y’ is placed underneath the Tax
heading.
The formula in I4 is: IF(F4=''Y'',($I$1*D4*G4),'''')
Explain, in detail, what the formula does.
[5]
Answer
Five of:
If Tax is payable then//If F4 is equal to "Y" then [1]
If true the tax is paid [1]
Multiply the rate of tax/I1 [1]
By the selling price/D4 [1]
By the amount sold/G4 [1]
If Tax is not payable//If F4 <>"Y"//Else//Otherwise [1]
Then display a blank [1]
The tax is not paid [1]

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 Order of Operations
Your notes

Order of Operations
What is the order of operations?
The order of operations is what determines the sequence in which calculations are
performed within a formula
The order of operations ensures the calculation is completed correctly
A spreadsheet performs all calculations using a mathematical order of operations
known as BIDMAS

B Brackets first

I Indices (power of and square root etc.)

DM Division and Multiplication (left to right)

AS Addition and Subtraction (left to right)

Case Study
Consider the following example spreadsheet:

A B C

1 10 20

2 5 15

3 =20*2

If you input the formula "=A1+B3" in cell C1, the result will be 50, because B3 is
calculated first (20*2=40), and then A1 is added (10+40=50)
If you input the formula "=(A1+B1)*2" in cell C2, the result will be 60, because
A1+B1 is calculated first (10+20=30), and then the result is multiplied by 2
(30*2=60)

Examiner Tips and Tricks

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It's always a good idea to use brackets to make sure that your formulae work as
expected, even if they might not be necessary
Your notes
It makes the formula easier to read and understand
It can prevent errors if the formula is edited in the future

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 Cell Referencing
Your notes

Relative
What is an relative cell reference?
A relative cell reference means that when a formula is copied the cell reference can
change
The reference is relative to the cell containing the formula
It is the default cell referencing used in spreadsheets
Example
Consider the following example spreadsheet:

A B C

1 10 20

2 5 15

When you copy a formula that includes a relative cell reference, spreadsheet software
adjusts the reference relative to the new location
For example, if you copy the formula "=A1+B1" from cell C1 to C2, the formula will adjust
to "=A2+B2"

What are the benefits of relative cell references?

Relative cell references saves time by automatically adjusting references when being
copied, improving efficiency
Relative cell references are flexible and allow users to create formulas that can be used
on a range of data

Absolute
What is an absolute cell reference?
An absolute cell reference means that when a formula is copied the cell reference does
not change
Absolute cell references are fixed using the $ symbol
Example
Consider the following example spreadsheet:

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 A B C
Your notes
1 10 20

2 5 15

If you input the formula "=A1+B1" in cell C1 and drag the fill handle down to copy the
formula to cell C2, the formula in C2 will change to "=A2+B2"
But if you input the formula "=$A$1+B1" in cell C1 and drag the fill handle down, the
formula in C2 will still refer to cell A1: "=$A$1+B2"

What are the benefits of absolute cell references?

Absolute cell reference provide consistency in a spreadsheet, for example:
Calculations using a tax rate (fixed) that you want consistently applied across the
spreadsheet
Absolute cell references provide clarity in formulas, they become easier to understand

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 Present Data
Your notes

Display Features
What are the display features of a spreadsheet?
Display features of a spreadsheet include:
Displaying either formulas or values
Adjusting height and width of rows/columns
Wrapping text

Adjusting basic display features in a spreadsheet

Formatting Spreadsheets
How can you format a spreadsheet?
Formatting a spreadsheet can be split in to three parts:
Enhancing the look
Formatting numeric data
Using conditional formatting

Enhancing the look

To enhance the look of a spreadsheet it involves changing:
Text colour
Cell colour
Cell emphasis (Bold, italic, underline etc.)

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 Your notes

Formatting a spreadsheet

Formatting numeric data

Formatting numeric data includes:
Adjusting number of decimal places
Using different currency symbols as appropriate
Dealing with percentages

Formatting data in a spreadsheet

Using conditional formatting

Conditional formatting means dynamically changing the format of a cell based on it's
contents

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 Your notes

Using conditional formatting in a spreadsheet

Page Layout
How can you set the page layout of a spreadsheet?
Changing the page layout of a spreadsheet includes:
Changing orientation (portrait/landscape)
Controlling the print layout

Changing orientation

Changing the page orientation in a spreadsheet

Controlling print layout

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 Your notes

Changing the page setup in a spreadsheet

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 Search & Select Data
Your notes

Search & Select Data in Spreadsheets

What is data selection?
Data selection allows you to focus on a specific subset of your data based on certain
criteria
This is useful for analysing parts of a larger dataset
You can select data using a single criterion or multiple criteria

Searching for data

Specific data in spreadsheets can found by using various operators, these include:
AND
OR
NOT
Greater than >
Less than <
Equal to =
Greater than or equal to >=
Less than or equal to<=
Not equal to <>
For example, you might search for all students who scored above 85 (>) AND are in Year
11

Wildcards
wildcards can be used when you're unsure of the exact data you're looking for
The most common wildcards are the asterisk (*) and the question mark (?)
An asterisk represents any number of characters
For example, "A*" would find "Alex", "Aaron", etc.
A question mark represents a single character
For example, "A?e" would find "Abe", but not "Alex"
Consider the following example spreadsheet:

A B C

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1 Name Mark Year
Your notes
2 Alex 85 11

3 Ben 90 12

4 Chloe 80 11

5 Dave 88 12

6 Eve 82 11

To select all students in Year 11, you could use the criterion "Year = 11"
To search for students who are in Year 11 AND scored above 85, you could use the criteria
"Year = 11" AND "Grade > 85"

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Remember that you can use operators and wildcards in your searches to find data
more efficiently. Wildcards are especially useful when you're unsure of the exact value
you're looking for.

Sorting data in a spreadsheet

Why do we need to sort data in a spreadsheet?
Sorting data is a powerful feature in spreadsheets
It arranges your data based on specific criteria
You can sort in ascending or descending order
You can sort data using a single criterion
For example, you could sort a list of names alphabetically
In Excel, select the column you want to sort and then choose 'Sort A to Z' for ascending
order or 'Sort Z to A' for descending order

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 Your notes

You can also sort data using multiple criteria

For example, you could sort a list of students first by grade, and then alphabetically by
name within each grade
In Excel, select your data and then choose 'Sort'. Add levels for each of your criteria
Consider the following example spreadsheet:

A B

1 Name Age

2 Alex 15

3 Ben 17

4 Alex 16

If you sort by 'Name' (A to Z), the spreadsheet might look like this:

A B

1 Name Age

2 Alex 16

3 Alex 15

4 Ben 17

If you sort by 'Name' (A to Z) and then 'Age' (Smallest to Largest), the spreadsheet would
look like this:

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 A B
Your notes
1 Name Age

2 Alex 15

3 Alex 16

4 Ben 17

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Be sure to select all relevant columns before sorting, especially when dealing with
multiple criteria. Failure to do so may result in misalignment of your data!

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