Unit 4 Electronic Spreadsheet Class 9 Notes

SPREADSHEET : A spreadsheet is a grid which interactively manages and

organizes data in rows and columns. It is also called as Electronic Spreadsheet. It
can also store, manipulate and create graphical representations of data.

It is used for managing financial and accounting documents, creating data

reports, generating invoices, and for doing a variety of calculations on data etc.

Advantages of Spreadsheet : There are various advantages of spreadsheet

software.

1. A spreadsheet software can create graphical representations of data.

2. It can be used to calculate and analyze the data for decision making.
3. It also provide built-in formulae and functions for common mathematical,
financial, statistical operations.
4. It is widely used for data analysis and accounting applications.

Examples of Spreadsheet software : Examples are

1. Microsoft Excel
2. LibreOffice Calc
3. OpenOffice Calc
4. Apple Inc. Numbers

LibreOffice Calc is used to perform the following activities accurately and

efficiently.

1. Tabulation of data.
2. Simple mathematical calculations.
3. Complex calculations using formula and functions.
4. Arranging data in ascending and descending order.
5. Filtering the required data.
6. Check the validity of data.
7. Protection of data using passwords.
8. Saving for future use.

Starting LibreOffice Calc : LibreOffice Calc is the spreadsheet application of

LibreOffice suite. In Linux (Ubuntu) operating system, the LibreOffice gets
installed by default. In Windows, you need to download LibreOffice from its
official website and install it on your computer.

Steps to open LibreOffice Calc in Window : In Windows, find the shortcut of

LibreOffice on Start menu or on the desktop. Double click the shortcut to open
LibreOffice. Or Click the window menu, select LibreOffice application, then click
LibreOffice Calc.

Steps to open LibreOffice Calc in Linux : In Ubuntu Linux, find the Calc icon on
application launcher or search it by clicking on “Show Applications”.

Parts of LibreOffice Calc :

Following figure shows the parts of LibreOffice Calc. A brief explanation about
the parts is given below.

a. Title bar : The Title bar, located at the top, shows the name of the current
spreadsheet. The first created spreadsheet takes the name as Untitled 1, second
is Untitled 2 and so on.

b. Menu bar : Menu bar is located just below the Title bar. It contains the menus
with commands for various tasks.

c. Toolbars :The Calc opens with the Standard and Formatting toolbars at the top
of the workspace by default. These toolbar provide a wide range of common
commands and functions. Placing the mouse cursor over any
icon displays a small box called a tooltip.

d. Worksheet : The worksheet in Calc is also referred to as spreadsheet. The

spreadsheet can have many sheets. Each sheet can have many individual cells
arranged in rows and columns. The sheet tab shows its default name as Sheet1,
Sheet2, Sheet3, ….

e. Rows and columns : The sheet is divided into vertical columns and horizontal
rows. Each sheet can have
a maximum of 1,048,576 (220) rows and 1024 (210) columns. The rows are
numbered as 1,2,3,4,… and columns are numbered as A, B, C, D, …., Z, AA, AB,
AC, …., AZ …

f. Cell and cell address : The intersection of a row and column is called a cell. It is
the basic element of a
spreadsheet. It holds data, such as text, numbers, formulas and so on. A cell
address is denoted by its column (letter) and row number. For example, D4, E9,
Z89 are the valid example of cell address.

g. Active Cell : When we click on a cell it gets selected, and is ready to take data
from the user. This selected or activated cell is called an active cell. It is always
highlighted, with a thick border.

Key or Key Combination Result of Key or Combination

Arrow keys
Move a single cell in arrow direction
(←↑→↓)

Ctrl + Arrow Keys Moves the cell to the end of the data range in a particular direction

Home Moves to column A along the row where the active cell is

Ctrl + Home Moves the cell to A1 position

Ctrl + End Moves to bottom right cell of the data range

Page Up Moves the worksheet one screen up

Page Down Moves the worksheet one screen down

Range of cells: A block of adjacent cells in a worksheet which is highlighted or

selected is called a range of cells.

The column range is the number of cells spread across the column. The cell
address is represented by single column letter and multiple row number in a
sequence. for example C1 : C6, A9 : A18 etc

The row range is the number of cells spread across the row. The cell address is
represented by single row number with different columns. for example C5 : H5,
A2 : J2 etc.

The row and column range is the number of cells spread across the row and
columns. This range is a matrix with number of rows and number of columns. for
example A3 : G5, D2 : H4 etc.

Entering data : The data to be entered in a worksheet can be the label, values or
formula.

a) Label : Label is the any text entered by using a keyboard. It may combine with
letters, numbers, and special symbols. By default the labels are left aligned.

b) Values : The numerical data consisting of only numbers are called values. By
default values are right aligned.

c) Formulae : Any expressions that begins with an equals „=‟ is treated as

formula.

Mathematical operators used in formulae : Spreadsheet Software has the most

powerful features to calculate numerical data using formulae. LibreOffice Calc
uses standard operators for formulae, such as a plus(+), minus(-), multiplication
(*), a division (/) for arithmetic operation.
Mathematical Operators Operator precedence

Addition (+) First ( )

Subtraction (-) Second ^

Multiplication (*) Third /, *

Division (/) Third /, *

Exponentiation (^)

Note: Formula starts with „=‟ sign and nothing should be written on the left side of
the equal sign („=‟). If you
forgot to put the „=‟ before the formula, it will be treated as a label.

Steps to rename sheet :

1. Select the menu Sheet → Rename Sheet.

2. Give appropriate name and click OK

Steps to save the worksheet : To save the worksheet

1. click on File → Save.

2. A Save dialog box will appear.
3. Select the location where you want to save the file.
4. Enter the name of the file say, „Bill‟
5. Click on the Save button.

Steps to insert the column before any column : Position the cursor on any cell of
the column before which you want to insert the column and select Sheet → Insert
Columns → Columns → Columns left

Steps to insert the column after (right side) any column : Position the cursor on
any cell of the column after which you want to insert the column and select Sheet
→ Insert Columns → Columns → Columns right.
Function : Functions are predefined formula in Calc which is used for tasks like
finding the sum, count, average, maximum value, and minimum values for a
range of cells.

Commonly used basic functions in Calc

Function Syntax Use

SUM =SUM(Number1,Number2,…..) Adds the values contained in a range of cells.

Return the average of the values contained in a

AVERAGE =AVERAGE(Number1,Number2,….)
range of cell

Return the largest value contained in a range of

MAX =MAX(Number1,Number2,……)
cells

Return the largest value contained in a range of

MIN =MIN(Number1,Number2,……)
cells

Return the Counts of the number of cells within a

COUNT =COUNT(Number1,Number2,…..) range
of cells.

Formatting the worksheet : The cell data can be formatted using Format cells
dialog box. The Format cells dialog box can be opened using Format→cells using
the Format menu, or from context menu opened through right clicking the cell.
Shortcut to open this Format Cell dialog box is Ctrl+1. Various options of Format
cell dialog box are shown below.

a) Formatting a range of cells with decimal places : Following are the steps to
format a cell to the required number of decimal places:

1. Select the range of cells.

2. Open the „format cells dialog‟ box
3. Click the „Number‟ tab
 4. Select the „Number‟
5. Change the decimal places as required
6. Click „OK‟

b) Formatting a range of cells to be seen as labels : Follow the steps below in

order to format a range of cells as text.

1. Select the range of cells

2. Open the „format cells dialog‟ box
3. Click the Number tab
4. Select Text
5. Click „OK‟
6. Enter numbers

c) Formatting of a cell range as different date format : In a spreadsheet

application, the user can change Date in many different formats. To do these
follow the below steps.

1. Select the range of cells.

2. Open the „Format cells dialog‟ box
3. Click the „Number‟ tab
4. Select the „Date‟ category
5. Select the date format
6. Click „OK‟

d) Formatting a range of cells to display times : Follow the steps below to format
a range of cells to display the time.

1. Select the cell range

2. Open the „format cells dialog‟ box
3. Click the „Number‟ tab
4. Select the „Time‟ category
5. Select category Time should be displayed
6. Click „Ok‟

e) Formatting alignment of a cell range : Follow the steps below to format the
alignment of range of cells.

1. Select the range of cells

2. Open the „format cells dialog‟ box
3. Click the „Alignment‟ tab
4. Select left, right or center
5. Click „OK‟

Fill handle of a cell : The small black square in the bottom-right corner of the
selected cell or range is called a fill handle.
 Electronic Spreadsheet Class 9 Notes

Referencing : Referencing is the way to refer the formula or function from one cell
to the next cell along the row or column. There are three types of referencing.

1. Relative referencing
2. Mixed referencing
3. Absolute referencing

1. Relative referencing : When you drag any formula in any row or column in any
direction, the formula gets copied in the new cell with the relative reference. for
example A1, H15 etc.

2. Mixed referencing : In Mixed Referencing, the $ sign is used before row number
or column name to
make it constant. for example A$5, $C14.

3. Absolute referencing : In Absolute referencing, a $ symbol is used before the

column name as well as row number to make it constant in any formula. For
example, $C$12, $D$5, etc.

Identify the cell referencing in the following table:

Example Type of Refencing

A1 Relative

F45 Relative

D$4 Mixed

$A23 Mixed

$A$2 Absolute
Charts and Graph

Charts and graphs can be powerful ways to convey information to the reader
through a pictorial representation. Open Office Calc offers a variety of different
chart and graph formats for data. Using Calc, customization of charts and graphs
to a considerable extent. This facility enhances the presentation of data in an
effectine manner.

Familiarization with the types of charts

There are various charts graphs representing data through relevant pictorial
representation. The creation and presentation of charts are discussed in the
following sections.

1. Column charts

2. Bar charts

3. Pie charts

4. Area charts

5. Line charts

6. Scatter or XY charts etc.

Column Charts

This type shows a bar chart or bar graph with vertical bars. The height of each bar
is proportional to its value. The x-axis shows categories. The y-axis shows the
value for each category.

Bar Charts

This type shows a bar chart or bar graph with horizontal bars. The length of each
bar is proportional to its value. The y-axis shows categories. The x-axis shows the
value for each category.

Pie Charts

A pie chart shows values as circular sectors of the total circle. The length of the
arc, or the area of each sector, is proportional to its value.

Area charts

An area chart shows values as points on the y-axis. The x-axis shows categories.
The y-values of each data series are connected by a line. The area between each
two lines is filled with a colour. The area chart's focus is to emphasise the changes
from one category to the next.

Line charts

A line chart shows values as points on the y-axis. The x-axis shows categories. The
y-values of each data series can be connected by a line.
Points only - this sub-type plots only points.

Points and lines - this sub-type plots points and connects points of the same data
series by a line.

Lines only - this sub-type plots only lines.

3-D lines - this sub-type connects points of the same data series by a 3-D line.

Scatter or XY charts

An X-Y chart in its basic form is based on one data series consisting of a name, a
list of x values, and a list of y values. Each value pair (x|y) is shown as a point in a
coordinate system. The name of the data series is associated with the y values
and shown in the legend.