IGCSE ICT Spreadsheet practice worksheet 0417

1) A head teacher wants to store details of his students’ attendances in a spreadsheet. He has typed in
the details of two students so far. Each student is identified by a student ID which consists of one
letter followed by 6 digits. The number of possible attendances is recorded along with each
student’s actual number of attendances.

a)He wants the spreadsheet to perform a calculation of the percentage attendance of Maria [3]
Gonzales in E3. Explain how he would use the spreadsheet to do this.

b)He now wants to add another 18 students to the spreadsheet. Explain how he could calculate the [3]
percentage attendance for each student by only using a computer mouse.

c)Explain how a VLOOKUP function works, using the example of VLOOKUP(38,A2:C10,3,FALSE). [4]
Ans: It looks for the value 38 in a range of cells A2:A10 to find an exact match of 38.
When the match is found, it returns a value from the corresponding cell of 3rd column(column C).
If the exact match is not found, it will return #N/A.
2) Explain how a SUMIF function works, using the example of SUMIF(A1:A6, ">29", B1:B6). [4]

3) Using the example of COUNTIF(A2:A10,”<31”), explain how the COUNTIF function works. [4]

4) A video shop owner uses a spreadsheet to calculate his costs. This is part of the spreadsheet.

(a) Give the cell reference of the cell that contains $20……………………….. [3]
(b) Give the number of rows shown in the spreadsheet. ………………………..
(c) Write down the formula which should go in cell D2. ………………………..………………………..
(d) Write down the formula which should go in cell D8. Make the most efficient use of a function [2]

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5) This is part of a spreadsheet used to calculate workers’ earnings after tax.

(a) Pay before tax is calculated by multiplying Hourly Rate of pay by Number of hours worked. [1]
Write down the formula which should be entered in cell D4.

(b) The Tax paid by each worker is calculated by multiplying the Rate of income tax by their Pay [3]
before tax. Without using numerical values and by using absolute referencing where
appropriate, write down the formula which should be entered in cell E4.

(c) Explain what absolute referencing is and why it is needed in this example. [3]

(d) Write down, using a function, the most efficient formula which should be entered in cell F9 to [1]
calculate the total pay of these 5 workers.

6) Below is a spreadsheet [4]

showing the countries which
have hosted the
Commonwealth Games.
Write down suitable titles
for:
The category axis

The value axis

The chart

Type of chart

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7) Below is a spreadsheet showing contributions to a charity from different regions.

a) Cell E4 contains the formula =SUMIF($H$4:$H$24,B4,$I$4:$I$24) Using cell references explain [3]
what this formula does.

(b) What formula would you expect to see in cell E8? [3]

c) The formula in I26 only refers to the values in column I. Write down the formula you would [2]
expect to see in cell I26

8) A teacher has produced a piece of software and uses it to record exam marks. Each exam has a
total of 100 marks available. If a student does not take the examination then the mark awarded
is 0.

a) Write a formula that would be entered in cell C3 to display the word pass if the value in B3 is [3]
more than 75 marks or the word fail if it is not.

b) The teacher wishes to test a formula on the spreadsheet and uses normal, abnormal and [3]
extreme test data. Describe each of the following terms:

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 Normal Test Data ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Abnormal Test Data ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Extreme Test Data ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
9) A teacher wants to record the
results of tests for each student in a
spreadsheet. He sets test
papers for both the theory (T) and
practical (P) aspects of the ICT
course. Part of the spreadsheet is
shown below.

(a) Write down a formula you would use in cell K4 which makes use of the labels in row 3, where [4]
appropriate, to add up the marks for the theory tests only.

(b) Write down a formula that you would enter in cell I4 to calculate the average of Rajesh’s [2]
results.

(c) Describe how the teacher could format the average mark to 2 decimal places. [2]

(d) The teacher wants the spreadsheet [4]

to calculate a student’s grade
automatically. He needs to calculate this
from the average mark of all the results
for the student. Write down below a
formula which should be entered into
cell J4. It should use the calculated
average mark. It will search for Rajesh’s
average mark in column N and return
the corresponding grade. It should be
easily replicated for other students.

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10) Below is part of a spreadsheet of [4]
candidates’ examination grades. A
teacher needs to create formulae to
analyse these grades. There are 64
grades in the full list, in cells B6 to B69.
a) Write the most efficient formula that
could be entered in cell E6 to display
the number of A* grades for ICT in the
full list. The formula must be easy to
replicate for the other grades.

b) The teacher wants to copy the formula down to E15 without having to re-type any of the cells. [3]
Describe how he could achieve this.(Answer below)
Highlight the cell E6 and copy the contents of the cell, Highlight cells E7 to E15, Paste the formula
Or Click on cell E6, select fill handle, Drag down to (replicate until) E15

c) The teacher needs to calculate the percentage of students gaining A* to C grades. Write the [4]
most efficient formula to achieve this.

d) The teacher wishes to create an appropriate chart or graph to be placed on a separate sheet. [5]
It will show the grades and the corresponding total number of students gaining those grades.
Describe how the teacher could achieve this.(Answer below)
 Highlight D6:E15, Click Insert then Chart, Select suitable Vertical Bar Chart/Pie chart
 Click on title and add suitable title
 For vertical bar graph, Add category axis titles as Grades and value axis titles as Number of
students.
 For Pie chart, Add colour for grades, Add values, Add a legend, Explode pie chart
 Move the chart to a separate sheet and save the chart in a form that can be saved/exported
as required.

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11) The Xtreme Adventure Holiday Company are
setting up a spreadsheet for their payroll. They
have job codes for each of their employees.
Below is part of the payroll spreadsheet.

a) Describe, giving a suitable name for the

range (A6:B14), how the payroll manager could
name this range. [3]

b) Write a formula for cell C18 to display the

job description, using the named range from
part (a). [4]

12) A school is creating a spreadsheet as a method of recording academic performance of students in

IGCSE Geography. The spreadsheet lists each student’s name and their target level. The levels range
from 1 to 9, where 9 is the best level. Teachers enter the current working level. If the working level
is the same or better than target level then ‘‘well done’’ is displayed in the comment cell, otherwise
‘‘needs improvement’’ is displayed.

a) Write a formula for cell E2 to automatically display ‘‘needs improvement’’ or ‘‘well done’’. [3]

13) You have created a spreadsheet to help your teacher to show progress in a series of tests.

a) Write a formula to be placed in cell C2 to produce the following: [5]

“Making progress” if the mark is 75 or more
“Satisfactory” if the mark is 50 to 74 marks
“Needs improvement” if the mark is 0 to 49 marks

b) (i) Having created the formula, it needs to be tested to show that it displays the correct comment [4]
for each mark. Suggest an item of test data that would satisfy each of the following tests. Each item
of test data must be different.
Test Data Expected Outcome Type of test
Making progress Test using normal data
Satisfactory Test using normal data
Needs improvement Test using extreme data
Satisfactory Test using extreme data

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 (ii) Explain why testing is important. (Answer below) [2]
To prove the system works as designed so that the system can be implemented correctly or modify
the system if errors show up, trapping all errors. Also, to make sure that the system meets the
user’s expectations & requirements

c) You are now asked to enter the marks for an additional 19 students into the spreadsheet and to [3]
produce a bar chart showing the student names and their test marks. Describe how you would
create the bar chart.

14) The Ocean Sailing Company

offers the experience of
sailing on a yacht.
Customers can choose which
type of yacht they want to
sail on. The owner keeps a
spreadsheet to calculate the
cost to customers. The
owner allocates a loyalty
code to each customer. Each
code has a different
discount.
(a) Explain each element of the formula in cell D9. [3]

(b) Identify the value you would expect to see in cell D9. [1]

(c) The Discount is the cost per day multiplied by the number of days multiplied by the Percentage [3]
Discount. Write a formula that would be entered in cell E9 to calculate the Discount.

(d) The $ symbol is used in the formula in cell D9. Name this type of referencing and explain why it [3]
is used. (Answer below)
When the formula is replicated (dragged down the column), the cell reference (associated with the
$) does not change. So the user does not need to type in each formula separately.
(e) The Ocean Sailing Company owns a number of yachts. Explain how you could replicate the [3]
formulae to calculate the Percentage Discount and the Discount for each yacht.(answer below)
 Select (highlight) cells D9 and E9. Hold the fill handle.
 Replicate (drag down) to row 16. Check values are correct
15) The Chennai Flood Defence Agency is concerned about the
continued flooding of the Adyar river. You have been asked to
produce a flood defence model, using a spreadsheet, to show the
normal depth and the actual depth of the river. Part of the flood
defence model is shown.
In the Warning column the model will display:
‘Alert’ when the actual depth is above 2.5 m
‘Aware’ when the actual depth is between 1.5 m and 2.5 m
• ‘Safe’ when the actual depth is below 1.5 m
• ‘Error’ when abnormal data is entered.

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 (a) Test data is entered in cell C4. Complete the following test plan for the warnings. [5]

(b) You need to enter a formula in cell D4. This formula will be replicated down to cell D9. Complete [5]
the formula that would be used in cell D4.
=IF(C4>2.5, “Alert”,

(c) One of the users has incorrectly entered actual depth data into cells B4 to B9 rather than cells [2]
C4 to C9. Describe how you can amend the spreadsheet to prevent this from happening in the
future.(answer below)
Select all cells in the spreadsheet, right click and uncheck locked to unlock the cells.
Highlight B4 to B9, select locked to lock the cells, click review, protect sheet, un-check locked cells.
(d) Part of the flood defence model is shown. [1]
You have been asked to produce a graph or chart to
show both the normal level and the recorded actual
level at each of the bridges along the river. Include a
legend and the names of each of the bridges.
(i) Name the most appropriate type of graph or chart
to display this data. [1]

(ii) Describe how you would use the spreadsheet

software to create the graph or chart.

16) A farmer has purchased a computerized milking system [6]

for her cows. The amount of milk each cow produces is
currently recorded daily in a spreadsheet. This is part of
the spreadsheet.
You have been asked to produce a graph or chart to show
the amounts of milk for the cowwith Animal Passport
Number 971/2016.
Describe the steps you would use to produce a graph or
chart of this data as a separate sheet. Include in your
answer the name of the new sheet.

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17) An auction company sells toys. It uses a spreadsheet to show each person’s items and the amount
of money the buyer and seller owe to the company. Part of the spreadsheet is shown below.

a) The Buyer’s premium is 20% of the Selling price. Write a formula to display the Buyer’s premium [2]
in cell E6.

b) The person selling the item pays a Seller’s commission on any item sold. This is calculated using [5]
the Selling price and finding a match or the next value below in the table, in cells I6 to J11. Write
a formula to display in cell F6, the Seller’s commission on the Double Decker bus toy. This
formula will be replicated down to cell F13.

c) Describe how you could replicate the formula in cell F6 for each item. [2]

d) Before the auction begins, a hard copy brochure is produced showing information about the [5]
items, data from the spreadsheet and images of some of the items. Describe how this brochure is
created.(answer below)
 Create a template of the brochure page & type in the text about the auction with date, name of
seller & commission.
 Select the image from the folder, insert the image of the items & position the image in a
suitable location.
 Highlight and select the data in the spreadsheet, copy the data and paste into the brochure.
 Position the data, text & images. Check spellings, grammar & save the brochure.
18) You have created a spreadsheet to display the Ultra Violet (UV) radiation level in Brazil, Argentina
and France for 2016. The following graph was produced from some of the data.

a) Describe how this graph was created. [4]

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 b) You are going to show the graph to a group of students in a Geography lesson. Explain three [3]
improvements you could make to the graph to help it match the needs of the audience.

c) Write down the formula that should be entered into cell B16 to calculate the average UV level [2]
for Brazil.

d) The spreadsheet has been updated to show the danger [5]

levels of UV radiation in Brazil.
Using the table in cells A19 to B23, write down the formula
entered in cell C4 to display the corresponding danger levels
in Brazil. This formula will be replicated down to cell C15. [

e)The formula that has been written in part (d) needs to be replicated down to cell C15. [3]
Describe how you could display the corresponding data for all the months for Brazil.

19) A school is voting to see if they should

change the timings of the school day or
not. You have been asked by the head
teacher to present the data from a
number of opinion polls in the form of a
graph. The data shows the changes in
people’s opinions over time. The data is
stored in a spreadsheet. Part of the
spreadsheet is shown.

a) Name the most appropriate type of graph or chart that would be used to present the data. [1]

b)The head teacher wishes the data to be presented as a graph to be shown at a public meeting. [5]
He requires a legend to be included in the graph. Describe how you would produce the graph or
chart of the data including the legend.

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20) The Tawara Tea Company supplies tea to its customers. The company has created a spreadsheet to
help its sales team to keep track of its orders. The spreadsheet has two worksheets, named
Products and Orders. Part of the spreadsheet is shown below.
All prices and costs are displayed in Indian Rupee ₹.
Worksheet: Products Worksheet: Orders

A salesman needs to create a formula to be placed in cell D2, in the Orders worksheet, that finds [8]
the Price per unit of the tea, multiplies it by the Quantity ordered and then displays the result.
(a) Write a formula that needs to be entered in cell D2. This formula will be replicated down to cell
D9.

The salesman has

created a new
worksheet called Receipt
which automatically
produces a receipt for
each order.
Worksheet: Receipt

b) Explain how he could format the Cost column (column E) to display the values in Indian [3]
Rupees as shown.

21) Alpine slalom skiing involves a

number of skiers racing down
a mountain negotiating
obstacles. The time it takes
each skier to complete the
course is measured. The
fastest skier is awarded first
place. This involves the use of
a number of different sensors
to monitor variables. Skiers
take part in two separate
races. The fastest thirty skiers
qualify for the second race.
Thirty skiers have already completed the course. In order for the next skier to qualify he has to beat
the race time of the skier currently in 30th place. Part of the spreadsheet showing the current
standings is shown.

a) Write a formula that can be entered in cell E36 to display Y if the skier has qualified by beating [3]
the time of the skier currently in 30th place. If the skier has not qualified then N is displayed.

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b) Just before the [3]
second run column E is
deleted as it is no
longer required. As the
skiers in the second run
complete the course
their times are entered
into the spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet has
been changed to
display the second run times, as shown. The combined times for the first and second runs need to
be added to the spreadsheet in a new column between columns E and F.
Describe the steps you would take to add this new column with the heading Combined Time.

c) Write a formula that can be entered in the new cell F3 that adds the time taken to complete the [1]
first run to the time taken to complete the second run.

d) When the [4]

overall race is
completed the
data is sorted
into order
based on the
combined
times. The
first place
skier will be at
the top of the list. Part of the final spreadsheet before the data is sorted is shown. The 30th place
skier is on row 32.
Describe the steps you would take to sort the data to show each skier in their correct position,
without using functions.

e) Skiers throughout the season earn World Championship points. At the end of the race the points [3]
are calculated for each skier. The winner of the race gains 100 points. The other skiers have their
points calculated by:
• subtracting the combined time of the winner from the combined time of the skier
• then subtracting this value from the winner’s points.
Write a formula to be placed in cell G4 to show the skier’s points for the race. The formula will be
replicated to G32.

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22) Fabian runs a film club.
He has created a
spreadsheet to display
information about the
films he shows. Part of
the spreadsheet is
shown.

a) Using the example of COUNTIF(B6:B11,C1), explain how a COUNTIF function works. [4]

b) There are more than 50 rows in the spreadsheet. Fabian needs to be able to see the top five rows [2]
at all times as he is scrolling down the spreadsheet. State the steps he needs to take to ensure this
happens.

23) The director of a small airport has asked his airport

manager to look into the punctuality of
departures. The manager obtained details of some
of the departures on one day. He has created a
spreadsheet, which contains both the airport data
and the times of departure. Part of the spreadsheet
is shown.

a) Write a formula that would be entered in cell F11 to display the letter L if the value in C11 is [3]
greater than 0 or the letters OT if it is not.

b) Write a formula, without using named ranges, that would be entered in cell E11. The formula [6]
must be easy to replicate. It should display the name of the airport, using the Airport code from cell
D11 and the list of Airport names.

c) The airport manager is producing a report of [3]

his findings to present to the director. The data
will change from day to day. Before he can
produce the findings he needs to enter a
formula in cell F19 to count the number of late
departures from the airport. Write the formula,
without using a named range, to be entered in
cell F19.

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 d) Name the most appropriate type of chart/graph he could produce to show the proportion of late [1]
departures and those that leave on time.

24) An examiner has created a spreadsheet to calculate his travel and hotel expenses when he attends
meetings. Part of the spreadsheet that he has created is shown below.

a) If the car mileage is greater than 400 km he gets paid $0.25 per km for the whole distance [7]
otherwise he gets paid $0.45 per km for the whole distance.
Write a formula, that is easy to replicate, to be placed in cell H2 that calculates the travel cost for
the meeting. Your formula must work even when the distance rates change.

b) Write a formula, that is easy to replicate, to be placed in cell G2 that calculates the total cost for [2]
the hotel for the meeting.

c) When the spreadsheet is completed the examiner will need to list the details of all the meetings [2]
where the distance is 400 km or greater. Explain how the examiner would use a filter to achieve
this.

25) A teacher has created a spreadsheet of students’ test marks. She has written a formula in cell C4 in the
spreadsheet. Part of the spreadsheet is shown below.

a) Explain what the formula in cell C4 does. [3]

b)When the teacher copies the formula down column C an error occurs. Explain why the error has [3]
occurred and what the teacher has to do to stop the error from happening.

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