BIT 1103: COMPUTER APPLICATIONS

MICROSOFT EXCEL PRACTICAL EXERCISES

PRACTICAL EXERCISE 1
A Payroll consists of Basic Pay, Allowances, Gross Salary, Deductions and Net Salary. The
Allowances are 23% of the Basic Pay while the Deductions are 12% of the Gross Salary.
In the given worksheet, indicate in each cell what will be inserted, that is – a value or a formula.
In the case of a formula, write down the formula in the cell.
A B C D E F
1 Stationery Supplies Ltd
2
3 Name Basic Pay Allowances Gross Salary Deductions Net Salary
4 Lewis
5 Francis
6 Edwin
. .
. .
. .
13 Totals

PRACTICAL EXERCISE 2
A B C D E F G H I
1 XYZ COMPANY SALES PERFORMANCE
2
3
4 SALESPERSON ANNUAL QTR1 QTR2 QTR3 QTR4 TOTAL AVERAGE
TARGET SALES SALES COMMISSION
5
6 ALBERT 750 148 256 133 154 X
7 MICHAEL 650 187 143 258 143 X
8 CARL 800 233 200 216 152 X
9 GEORGE 700 256 145 136 259 X
10 LUCY 1,000 249 212 215 124 X
11
12 TOTAL X X X X X X
13
14 COMMISSION 6%
15
(i). Given the table above, write formulas or describe how you would calculate the Total Sales
in column G and Row 12.
(ii). How would you calculate the Average Sales? Write the formula as it should appear in
Excel and show the method of duplicating it to the other cells.
(iii). How would you calculate the Commission? Write the formula as it would appear in Excel
and explain the method of duplicating it to the other cells.
(iv). Explain how you can insert two rows above Row 10.
(v). What does this sign (# # # # # # #) mean when seen in cell(s)? What should you do when
you see this sign?
(vi). How does one delete an entire row or column and all its cells?
(vii). You are asked to compare QTR1 and QTR3 sales for all salespersons in the above table
using a chart:
 (a). What range of cells do you need to select and how would you select it?
(b).What type of graph would you use?
(viii). How can you edit a chart once it is created, lets say, to change the series from columns to
rows, to change the legend, etc?

PRACTICAL EXERCISE 3

Use the worksheet given to answer the questions that follow:

Expenses for the Month
of January vs. Budget

Budget Savings
Salaries and Wages 156675.00
Rent 4300.00
Electricity 1000.00
Telephone 200.00
Advertisements 20000.00
Freight and clearing 15650.00
Security 3800.00

Questions
(i). Insert a new column between Budget and Savings column.
(ii). Enter the title ‘Actual’ in cell C3.
(iii). Enter the following figures in the new column.
Actual
Salaries and Wages 145200
Rent 4300
Electricity 1207
Telephone 142
Advertisements 18550
Freight and clearing 13400
Security 3800
(iv). Calculate the savings in cells D4:D10.
(v). Format the sheet title to Arial Black, size 14, and Bold.
(vi). Save the file as Audit 1.
(vii). Format the range B4:D10 to two decimal places.
(viii). Adjust column C such that all the values are displayed.
(ix). Add the title Savings % in cell E3 and calculate the savings as a percentage of the budget.
(x). Format the range E4:E10 as a percentage.
(xi). Enter the row title Total in cell A12 and obtain totals for Budget, Actual, and Savings
columns.
(xii). Copy the formula in E10 to E12.
(xiii). Format the new heading to match the existing headings and Align the heading to Right.
(xiv). Save and Close the worksheet.
PRACTICAL EXERCISE 4
Use the worksheet given below to answer the questions that follow:
Employee
Details

Allowances

Deductions
Gross Pay
Basic Pay
Category
Emp No

Name

Tax
E8 Cornell Assistant 4,600 300
E9 John Assistant 3,500 450
E2 Francis Supervisor 6,508 500
E3 Edwin Management 8,006 1,801
E10 Carl Assistant 4,200 100
E4 Bernard Management 7,917 1,775
E5 George Supervisor 5,500 850
E1 Lewis Management 8,291 2,500
E6 Albert Supervisor 5,700 760
E7 Edward Supervisor 7,151 1,545

Tax Rate
12%
Questions
(i). Make all the column titles bold, and size 12. Center the title , across columns A1:H1 and
make it size 16, and Bold.
(ii). Calculate the gross pay in cell F4.
(iii). Calculate the amount of tax deducted from each employee, given that the tax rate is 12% of
the gross pay. Tax rate is found in cell A16 of the worksheet.
(iv). Format the text orientation in the range A4:G4 to 0 degrees.
(v). Adjust the column width such that all the headings are visible.
(vi). In cell H4, enter the title Net Pay and calculate the Net pay for all employees.
(vii). Format the range G4:H13 to zero (0) decimal places.
(viii). Format the title Net Pay to match the other titles.
(ix). Set the range A1 to H16 as Print Area.
(x). Using the Names in column B, Basic Pay in column D, and Allowances in column E, insert
a Clustered Column Pie Chart on the same sheet to show comparison of the salaries for
the employees. The Chart Title should be Employee Details, the Y-axis should be
Employee Names and the X-axis should be Thousands (Kshs).
(xi). Move the chart so that the top left corner is on cell A18.
(xii). Change the Chart Title to Employees’ Salary Details.
(xiii). Change the Chart Type to Clustered bar with a 3-D visual effect.
(xiv). Increase the Chart Title Font size to 14.
(xv). Change the text direction for the title of the X-axis to 0 degrees, and for the Y-axis to -90
degrees.
(xvi). Resize the chart such that the bottom left corner is on cell A55, while the bottom right
corner is on cell I55 so that all the details are clearly visible.
(xvii). Save the worksheet as Salary Details (Reviewed Copy).

PRACTICAL EXERCISE 5
The following is a simple payroll:
A B C D E F G H I
1 Name Hours Hourly Basic Gross Tax NSSF Allowances Net
Worked Rate Pay Pay Deductions Contributions Pay
2 John 8 200
3 Peter 12 450
4 Sam 22 300
5 Njogu 30 286
6 Mary 16 220
7 Sally 45 468
8 Jane 15 150
9 Tina 3 280
10
11

Required:
Write formulae using cell names for the following expressions. State where the formula is
placed.
(i). Basic Pay = Hours Worked * Hourly Rate.
(ii). Allowances are allocated at 10% of the Basic Pay.
(iii). Gross Pay = Basic Pay + Allowances.
(iv). Tax Deduction is calculated at 20% of the Gross Pay.
(v). Net Pay = Gross Pay – Tax Deductions.

PRACTICAL EXERCISE 6
You have been asked to analyse the rainfall pattern of a city called Mooncity. The following
data, which shows the average weekly and monthly rainfall, has been provided.

Table 1.
Weekly Rainfall of Mooncity in mm.

MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT SUN

10 5 30 20 15 0 50

Table 2.
Monthly Rainfall of Mooncity in mm.

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
30 25 55 100 60 40 35 60 35 25 20 10

(a). Enter Table 1 and Table 2 into Microsoft Excel and Save as Mooncity
(b). Using the most appropriate formulas and functions,
(i). Calculate the total rainfall for the week and the year respectively.
(ii). Find the lowest rainfall for the week and the year respectively.
(iii). Find the highest rainfall for the week and the year respectively.
(iv). Find the mean rainfall for the week and the year respectively.
(c). Save the changes made to the worksheet.
(d). Create a 3-D column chart for Table 1. The title for the graph should be AVERAGE
DAILY RAINFALL. The title for the X-axis should be DAY while that of the Z-axis
should be labeled as RAINFALL (mm). The chart should be inserted as an object within
the worksheet. Format the chart appropriately