SPREADSHEET INTRODUCTION

 Spreadsheet is a program that is made up of columns and rows. It is designed primarily for calculations and
organising data.
 Workbook is a group of spreadsheets. A spreadsheet program such as Excel creates a workbook file when its files
are saved.
 Cell Address/Cell Reference. A cell address is a unique location in a spreadsheet that is created when rows and
columns intersect. The cell address is known by the letter of the column (columns run vertically) and the number
of the row (Rows go across)
 Cell is an intersection between a column and a row.

SPREADSHEET CALCULATIONS
 When doing calculations in a spreadsheet always begin with an = sign
 There are 2 types of calculations.
o Formulas. A formula tells the computer what to do and how to get it done.
o Functions. Are programmed into the software. As soon as you call a function the computer is
programmed to know how to execute it.

USING FORMULA
ORDER OF CALCULATIONS
THIS ALSO HOLDS TRUE IN MATHEMATICS, YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS!
1. B= Brackets the calculations in brackets occur 1st.
2. E=Exponents or powers will take second priority in a series of calculations.
3. M=Multiplication will be next.
4. D=Division is the 4th calculation to be executed if necessary.
5. A=Addition is the 5th
6. S=Subtraction is the final calculation to be executed.

CALCULATIONS WITH FUNCTIONS SEQUENCE.

1. Always start with an = sign
2. Then call/write the function you wish to use.
3. Within brackets state the range (groups of cells) the function should use in its calculation.

COMPARATIVE OPERANDS
 = equal to.
 < less than.
 > greater than.
 <= less than equal to.
 >= greater than equal to.
 <> not equal to.
FUNCTIONS: [Spreadsheet commands that tell the computer what type of calculation to perform on a range.]
 SUM this function adds all the numbers in a range.
 COUNT this function counts the amount of numbers in a range.
 MAX this function displays the highest value in a range.
 MIN displays the lowest value in a range.
 AVERAGE adds all the numbers in the range then divides the total by the amount of numbers it added.
 COUNTA counts numbers, letters or any other character in a range and returns the amount.
 COUNTIF counts the amount of times a specific character appears in a range.
 RANK states the position a certain value is placed in order of 1st to last based on the largest to smallest values.
 IF does one of several calculations normally two. Depending on whether a test works out to be true or false.
 AND is used to express two or more calculations where 2 criteria is assessed and both have returned a true result,
to execute a calculation and if false another calculation.
  OR is similar to the AND function except that one of the two criteria assessed will work out to be true.
 POWER uses the number of a cell address and raises it by an exponent specified in the function.
 SQRT calculates the ‘Square Root’ of a number.
 TODAY returns the current system date.
 NOW returns the current system date and time.
 VLOOKUP searches a table for a particular value or approximate value and returns a solution in a column to the
right based on the number of columns in the table.
 Range is a group of cells normally indicated within the brackets of a function. A range is the cells that the
function acts upon in its calculation.

ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE CELL ADDRESSING

 Relative Cell addressing occurs whenever you have entered a formula within a spreadsheet and the cell addresses
change based on the direction you’ve copied the formula.
 Absolute Cell addressing occurs whenever you have typed a formula and even though you copy the formula one
of more cell addresses remain fixed to a specific location.
o Cell addresses are made absolute to use one cell to execute a calculation on a range.
o $ anchors the cell address to a column or row or both $. Example =B2*$A$1 where cell A1 is fixed
(Absolute Cell Address).
o Another way to make cell addresses absolute is to name a cell. Example =B2*Disc where A1 is named
‘Disc’.
 Right click on the cell to rename.
 Select ‘Name Range’ or ‘Define Name’.
 Enter the name of the cell you wish to use in the cell name window.

Examples of Functions. [Based on the SS below]

A B C D D
1 Class Females Males Total
2 10 Martin 18 16 34
3 10 Rose 14 12 26
4 10 Taylor 0 33 33
5 10 Blackwood 20 13 33
6 10 McKnight 12 15 27
7 10 Brown 16 20 36
8
9 Student Total Result
10 15 SMALL
11 20 GOOD
12 30 LARGE

1. =TODAY(), will display in the cell the current system date.

2. =NOW(), will display the current system time and date.
3. =SUM(B2:C2) is to calculate the total students in 10 Martin’s Class.
4. =AVERAGE(C2:C7) is to calculate the average males in the G10 cohort.
5. =MIN(D2:D7) is the display the lowest number within the total G10 classes.
6. =MAX(B2:C7) is to display the largest number of students between females and males for all classes.
7. =COUNT(B4:D4, B7:D7) displays the amount of numbers entered in the range between Taylor’s class and
Brown’s class.
8. =COUNTA(B2:D7) counts all entries for all classes in the spreadsheet no matter what character is entered
numbers, letters or any other character.
9. =COUNTBLANK(B2;B7) will display all cells in the range which are empty.
10. =SUMIF(C2:C7,”<15”) is to add all the numbers which are less than 15, displaying an answer of 25.
11. =COUNTIF(B2:D7,”33”) displays the amount of times the number 33 is entered in the spreadsheet range.
12. =RANK(D2,$D$2:$D$7) is to rank the classes in order of size. The class with the greatest number will be 1 st the
class with the second most students will be 2nd etc.
13. =POWER(3,2) is to raise the number 3 to the power of 2. In other words, 3 multiplied by itself.
 14. =SQRT(25) is to display the answer of the square root of 25.
15. =IF(D2>=30,D2-3,D2+3) is to determine if a class total is 30 or more, and if it’s true subtract 3 otherwise add 3.
16. =IF(D2>=30,”TOO LARGE”,”TOO SMALL”) is to evaluate a condition of the class size and display the results
that the class is ‘too large’ or ‘too small’.
17. =IF(A2:A7=”10 Taylor”,”Special class”,”Not special”) is to look for ’10 Taylor’ class and note the class needs
special attention intervention or otherwise normal teaching can continue.
18. =IF(D2>=15,”SMALL”,IF(D2>=20,”GOOD”,IF(D2>=30,”TOO LARGE”))) the ‘NESTED IF’ function tests for
3 conditions. If the class size is 15 or more then display ‘Small’, 2nd condition is if the class size is 20 or more
then display the class size is ‘Good’, 3rd and final test is if the class size is 30 or more then the class size is
‘Large’.
19. =IF(AND(B2>15,C2>15),“LARGE”,“SMALL”) expresses an ‘IF’ function in conjunction with an ‘AND’
function as well. It expresses if the girls enrolled for 10Martin is greater than 15 and the males enrolled are also
greater than 15 then display the result that the class is ‘LARGE’ and if not then the class is ‘SMALL’.
20. =IF(OR(B2>15,C2>15),“LARGE”,“SMALL”) same as the AND function except that only 1 of the 2 criteria has
to be met.
21. VLOOKUP(D2,$A$10:$B$12,2,FALSE) is a search function that uses a particular value and searches for it in a
table called Lookup table and returns a value within the table.
22. =AND(B2>=18,C2>=18) is a Boolean compound calculation which display TRUE if both conditions are met. It
will display FALSE if only 1 of the 2 conditions are true.
23. =OR(B2>=18,C2>=18) is another Boolean compound calculation which will display an answer of TRUE if only 1
of the 2 conditions are met.
24. =IF(AND(B2>=18,C2>=18),”BOTH ARE ADULTS”,”ONLY ONE PERSON”)

CHARTS:
There are three basic types of charts for CSEC purposes. Each chart best represents a particular type of data or has a
particular relevance.
 Pie Chart; which is used to display proportions of a whole or single element.
 Bar/Column Chart; best utilized to compare two or more elements.
 Line Chart; also known as a trend or time chart. Best used to display progress over time (trend).

STEPS IN CREATING CHARTS IN MS-EXCEL:

1. Click Insert on the menu bar.
2. Ensure you have selected the values and labels in the SS to create the chart.
3. Click the type of chart you wish to use from the icons on the ribbon.
4. Then select the chart sub-type and the chart will now display on your SS.
5. Ensure the chart is active then click layout on the menu bar.
6. Click the Titles icon on the ribbon then go the chart and enter the title of the chart.
7. Finally enter both axis titles (x horizontal, y vertical) by clicking the axis icons and entering an appropriate title
for both axis.

NB All charts must be labeled! Chart Title, X and Y axis and should have a legend/key. Only Pie charts will not
have axis titles, but should have percentages for each portion.