INTRODUCTION TO SPREADSHEET

A spreadsheet is an interactive computer application

program for analysis of data in a tabular form. It is a
table of values arranged in rows and columns.
The program operates on data represented as cells and
organized in rows and columns. Each cell can contain
either numeric or text data, or the results of formulas
based on the contents of other cells.
The columns are normally represented by letters, "A",
"B", "C", etc., while rows are normally represented by
numbers, 1, 2, 3, etc. The intersection of a row with a
column is called a cell. Cell is uniquely identified by its
column and row designators, e.g. A1, B10, and C13.
Uses of Spreadsheet
Some of the uses are:
1. Calculation: include everything from basic to
complex calculations.
2. Charts and graphs: you can automatically convert
your data into the visual depiction of your choice.
 3. Accounting: both simple and more complex data,
such as earnings, expenses, budgets and other
accounting, is made easier.
4. Inventory -Use spreadsheets to list and maintain
groups of numerically based data.
5. Finance: can create and store financial transactions
and forecasts, or balances that are populated into the
general ledger.
6. Security and Integrity of Data: ensures that data is
current and secure, such as "locking" or protecting
cells to prevent intentional changes to data.
7. Planning: insights gained from a spreadsheet can
form the basis of future planning processes within
your business.
8. Analyzing Data: Data can be analyzed for different
departments, different products or for different
companies.

Types of Spreadsheet Software

Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, Google Sheets, Zoho
Sheet, Apple Numbers, Apache OpenOffice Calc,
LibreOffice Calc, Smartsheet, Gigasheet, etc.
INTRODUCTION TO MICROSOFT EXCEL
Microsoft Excel is powerful data visualization and
analysis software, which uses spreadsheets to store,
organize, and track data sets with formulas and
functions. Excel can be used in many business tasks,
including statistics, finance, data management,
forecasting, analysis, tracking inventory & billing, and
business intelligence.
Starting Microsoft Excel
Just like we did in MS Word, we can start excel by:
• Clicking the Start button on the Windows taskbar.
− The Start menu opens
• Point to All Programs
− The All Programs menu opens
• Click Microsoft Office or
• Click Microsoft Excel depending on the version you
are using.
− Excel opens a new workbook
Alternatively, you can also open it from the start menu if
it has been added there. Or
You can also open it from the desktop shortcut if you
have created one.

Definition of Terms
• Cell: is where we enter data. A cell's address
includes column letters and row number which
serves as a unique identifier for each cell.
• Worksheet: it is the working surface we interact and
enter data. It is a collection of cells organized in
columns and rows.
• Workbook: contains one or more worksheets to
help you organize data.
• Active cells: A particular cell you select and work
on is an active cell. The address of the cell will be
displayed in the address bar.
• Address bar or Name box: you can view the active
cell's particular address. It will display the address of
the first cell in the range if you have selected more
than one cell.
• Columns: refers to the vertical set of cells in the
Excel sheet. Each worksheet consists of 16384
columns in total and labeled from A to XFD.
• Rows: Is the horizontal set of cells. Each worksheet
contains 1048586 total rows. They are numbered as
1,2,3, and so on.
• Formula Bar – where data or formula you enter into
a worksheet appear for the active cell.
• Fill handle: This refers to the small dot or bold
mark on the lower right corner of the active cell. It
assists in filling values, text series, and serial
numbers by just clicking on it and extending it
downwards.
Entering data in Excel
a. On the worksheet, click on the cell you want to use
for data entry.
b. Type the numbers or text that you want to enter, and
press either Enter, Tab or navigational keys on the
keyboard.

Overlapping Data
If you enter data that will not fit the column width, it
will overlap into the next column just like the above
names.
Adjusting the Column width and Row Height
• Move your mouse pointer over the column’s right
edge in the column header area. Your mouse pointer
should change to a double-headed arrow.
 • Click and drag to the right to expand or to the left
to shrink the column width to the size you require.

You will be able to see your entire text.

Alternatively, you can highlight the whole column, in
the Home tab of Cell’s group, click the format and
choose AutoFit column width.
In the same respect, some of the data you enter will not
fit the row or height of the cell. In order to change the
row height:
• Point to the bottom edge of the row number
boundary to get the two-headed arrow
• Drag upward or downward to desired height
• You can also highlight the row and use the Format
AutoFit Row Height.

Deleting and replacing data

• To delete data, select the cell containing the data and
then press DELETE key.
• To replace data, click on the cell you want to replace
the data and type on the existing cell contents. The
new data will replace the old.
Deleting contents of cells
• To delete the contents in a cell, highlight the entire
content by clicking on a particular cell and drag to
the rest of the contents and press the Delete key.
• Or Click on Delete in Cell’s group and choose
Delete Cells.
Deleting Worksheet, Row or Column
• To delete a worksheet, right-click on the worksheet
and choose Delete.

• To delete a row or column, right-click on the

particular row number or column letter and choose
Delete.
Undo and Redo
• When you realized that the data you entered is not
correct and you want to go back to where you were
before. Click the Undo button at the Quick access
toolbar.
• If you had gone back too far, you can click the Redo
button to go forward a step again.

Inserting Column or Row

If you decide that you need another column in between
your existing values, or that you want to insert a row or
rows between existing values, you should use the
following methods:
• Inserting a single column: click on the column
letter to the right of where you want the new
column, then choose Insert in Cell’s group and
choose Insert sheet columns.
• Inserting a single row: click a cell in the row
number below where you want the new row and
 choose Insert in Cell’s group and choose Insert
sheet rows.

EXCEL FORMULA AND FUNCTIONS

Formulas and functions in excel are closely related but
different.
Formulas are created in excel using the basic
calculation operators (Addition, Subtraction, Division,
and Multiplication).
Functions are used to perform complex calculations.
Functions in excel have names that reflect their intended
use.
All formula or calculations in excel follow the order of
operations – Parenthesis, Exponentials, Multiplication
and Division first, Addition and Subtraction second,
from left to right (that is PEMDAS).
All formulas or calculations in excel MUST start with
equal sign (=). Always use a blank cell for calculation to
avoid errors.
For example, let’s say you want to sum 20 and 30, then
you need to write “= 20 + 30” and press Enter.

Calculations are correctly made in excel using the cell

addresses. We can refer to cells in the formula.

You can see that the cells we referenced to are

highlighted. When you press Enter, the result will show
in the new cell C1.
We can use the following formulas:
• Addition: To add the values of two or more cells,
use the + sign. Example: =B5+C3.
• Subtraction: To subtract the values of two or more
cells, use the - sign. Example: =B5-C3.
• Multiplication: To multiply the values of two or
more cells, use the * sign. Example: =B5*C3.
• Division: To divide the values of two or more cells,
use the / sign. Example: =B5/C3.
Putting all of these together, you can create a formula
that adds, subtracts, multiplies, and divides all in one
cell. Example: =(B5-C3)/((A5+B6)*3).
Using students result example:

You can see the three cells (C2, D2, and E2) are added
together to get the total score of each student. Assuming
we have over 100 students, we can’t manually calculate
them one after the other. We can use AutoSum or Fill
handle to make such calculation.
AutoSum and Fill Handle.
AutoSum automatically enters a formula to sum
numbers in your worksheet. It is used to sum a single
range of numbers. To use it:
• Select a cell next to the numbers you want to sum
either in the column section or row.
 • Click AutoSum button on either the Home tab in
Editing group or Formula Tab.
• A sum formula appears in the selected cell, and a
range of cells you are adding gets highlighted. Press
Enter.

Fill Handle – allows users to quickly copy formulas or

data down a column or across a row. To use it:
• Click on the cell with the formula and select it.
• Move the mouse pointer to the bottom right corner
of the selected cell. The fill handle appears as a
small black cross.
• Double-click on the fill handle to automatically copy
the formula down to the end of the data. Or
• Drag the fill handle down to the end of data to copy
the formula.
Functions in Excel
A function is a predefined formula that performs
calculations using specific values in a particular order.
Suppose we need to enter a formula that calculates up to
10 values entered in cells A1:A10. It would be very
tedious to have to type in the following formula: = A1
+ A2 + A3 + A4 + A5 + A6 + A7 + A8 + A9 + A10.
Fortunately, there is a shortcut. We can use a standard
function for the sum of a range of cells. That is =
SUM(A1:A10).
Parts of a function
The basic syntax for a function is an equal sign (=), the
function name (example, SUM), and one or more
arguments. Arguments contain the information you want
to calculate.
Types of Functions
There are a variety of functions. Here are some of the
most commonly used functions:
• SUM: This function adds all the values of the cells
in the argument.
• AVERAGE: it determines the average of the values
included in the argument.
• COUNT: it counts the number of cells with
numerical data in the argument.
• MAX: This determines the highest cell value
included in the argument.
• MIN: This determines the lowest cell value included
in the argument.
• Median: This determines the median of a range of
cells.
• IF: checks a given condition and returns a particular
value if it is TRUE. It will return another value if the
condition is FALSE.
Reference operators
Reference operators combine ranges of cells for
calculations. Examples are:
• : (colon) - produces one reference to all the cells
between two references. Example, the function
=AVERAGE(B1:B7) contains only one argument.

• , (comma) - is a Union operator, which combines

multiple references into one reference (used when
referencing cells that are not consecutive). Example,
the function contains multiple arguments and
separated by commas.: =SUM(B1:B7, D3:D6, F2)
To use Function
To use the function, you will first select the cells that
will contain the function.
With the student result example, we can calculate the
average, minimum, maximum and number of students
that wrote the exam.
Press Enter on your keyboard after each function
entered. The function will be calculated, and the result
will appear in the cell.
The If function is used to make logical comparisons
between values. For example, if we want to know the
students that passed or failed in the above result:

The result is:

GRAPHS AND CHARTS

Graphs and Charts are used to visualize data. They are
used to make information clearer and easier to
understand.
How to create a chart:
There are different basic types of charts/graphs that you
can create in excel, each of which works best for certain
types of data.
With our result example above, let’s create a chart to
display student’s matric number against the exam total
scores. The steps are:
• Select your data – click and drag the matric number
column down to select it. Hold the CTRL key and
click on Remark, drag it down to highlight it as
well.

• Click the Insert tab – which opens the insert tab.

• Select a chart type from the chart group – in this

case, we will choose the Column chart.
• Select the chart format – in the selected drop-down
menu, click a version chart (3D) to use in the
highlighted excel document.
• Add a title to the chart – double-click the “Chart
Title” at the top of the chart, delete the chart title and
replace it with your own.
• Save the chart.