Spreadsheet - Primary function 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 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
~ The vertical areas of the spreadsheet are COLUMNS; They are labeled A-Z, AA-AZ, BA-BZ, etc..., there are 16,384 Columns in MS Excel.
~ The horizontal areas of the spreadsheet are ROWS; Rows are labeled numerically; There are 1,048,576 Rows in MS Excel
~ The Rectangular area in which a row and column intersect in the workspace is called a CELL.
~ The selected cell with the heavy border around it is called the ACTIVE Cell.
~ A description of which row and column intersect to form the cell is known as the CELL ADDRESS. Cell A1 is the address for the cell in the first row and first column. The correct way to name a cell location is Column then Row.
~ The area that displays the address of the active cell is called the NAME BOX.
~ The Formula Bar is the area that displays the contents of the active cell. You may edit your data here
Tip: When highlighting in a spreadsheet, the inside color of the first cell will be white.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
*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.)
Helpful Features in Spreadsheets when using Formulas
**Spreadsheets have a Fill feature that lets you fill an adjacent group of cells with the same text, numbers, or formulas. For formulas, the fill feature will copy the formula relative to its' new location. In its simplest form it's like a faster version of copy and paste.
**Absolute Cell Reference: In spreadsheets, a cell reference specifies an individual cell or a range of cells that is to be included in a formula. ... In contrast, the definition of absolute cell reference is one that does not change when it's moved, copied or filled.
To create an Absolute Cell Reference: Example $A$5 is the Absolute Cell Reference for Cell A5.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spreadsheet Functions
* Built-in formulas that perform special calculations automatically.
- Sum functions add up a column of figures. (SUM)
- Average functions averages a group of numbers. (AVERAGE)
- Count functions count all the blank spaces in the range. (COUNT)
- 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 =
*There are 3 parts of a function: 1) =
2) Function Name
3) Argument - The range of cells that the function affects and it lists inside parentheses, first cell : last cell
* Example: to add cells=B2 + B3 + B4 + B5 + B6 you could use the function:
=SUM(B2:B:6)