INTRODUCTION TO SPREADSHEETS

A spreadsheet is an application software used to

organize,manipulate and analyze numerical data by use of formulas
and functions entered in rows or columns.
Examples of spreadsheets Programs
Microsoft
Excel, Openoffice calc,Lotus 1-2-3,Corel Quattro
pro,Symphony,Multiplan,Visicalc,Supercal
Components of a spreadsheet
Workbook is a spreadsheet file consisting of several pages of
worksheets where you enter and store related data; worksheets are
combined together in workbooks to make location and organization
of information easier.
Worksheet-the work area made up of rows and columns where data
is entered. each row is labelled using a number
Formulawhile
Bar each column is
labelled with an alphabetical letter.
Name
box

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Charts/Graphs-a pictorial representation of the base data on a
worksheet using charts such as pie charts, line charts, bar
charts etc

Cells-the intersection between a row and column. In a

spreadsheet a row is the horizontal arrangement of cells while
a column constitute the vertical arrangement of cells.

Cell address-the combination of a column header and a row

header that indicate the location of a specific cell e.g.
A1,B1,C1etc

Database- a collection of related data items organized so as

to provide a consistent and controlled access to items. In
spreadsheets a worksheet list may contain related data
organized into rows that can be manipulated using database
functions that enable the user functions such a
sorting,filtering,validation,subtotaling,pivot tables and
consolidation
Application areas of a spreadsheet
Statistical analysis-they provide a set of data analysis tools
that can be used to perform simple analysis such as
computing mean,mode,standard deviation as well as complex 2
Accounting-accountants uses spreadsheets for analyzing
financial transactions such as computing totals,consodating
financial records as well as predicting future business trends.
Mathematical and scientific analysis-spreadsheets are used to
solve mathematical and scientific problems such as
arithmetic and trigonometric.
Forecasting-they can be used for predicting economic trends
budgeting, stock portfolio analysis, cost analysis and cash
flow analysis.
Preparing payrolls - Calculating employees salaries i.e. gross
pay, allowances, deductions and the net pay.
Presenting students performance - to store students
information e.g. marks, calculating total marks, average
marks and grading.
Creating and maintaining personal budget- tabulating
monthly expenses and calculating total monthly expenses.

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Microsoft Excel
It is the most commonly used electronic spreadsheet, with
capability of tabulating data, simplifying numeric calculations
and presenting numeric data graphically.
There are several versions of Microsoft excel i.e. ms excel
97,2000,2003,2007,2010.

Methods of starting Ms Excel in windows

Use of all programs option
Use of an existing excel file.
Use of run
Use windows explorer.
Use of a desktop shortcut.

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Cell data entries in Ms excel
Labels- any text or alphanumeric characters entered in a cell.
By default are aligned to the left of the cell and cannot be
manipulated mathematically.
They are used as row or column headings in Ms Excel
application.
Values-these are numbers that can be manipulated
mathematically. They may include
currency,numerals,Fractions,percentages that can be
manipulated mathematically.
Formulae-user defined mathematical expressions that create
a relationship between cells to return a new value. Excel
formulae use cell addresses and arthimetical operators (+),
(-),(*)’(/) e.g. =B3+C3+D3
Functions-these are inbuilt predefined mathematical
expressions that the user can use to complete mathematical
operations e.g. =Sum(B3:D3)

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Cell references
Cell references allows users formulas & functions to update
automatically if the value in a particular cell changes. They
can also assist the user in updating formulas as the cells are
copied and moved.
Types of cell references
Relative cell references
They adjust in relation to the new location of the formula.
They identify cells based on their relationship to the cell
containing the reference e.g. when you copy a formula that
contains cell references say C1 containing a formula
=A1+B1,C2 adjusts to =A2+B2,C3=A3+B3,C4=A4+B4 etc.
Absolute cell references
These are references made to a specific address and does
not change even if the formula is copied to another.This
references are made by placing a dollar sign before the
reference e.g.$A$2
If B2=50 then the absolute reference is used to copy the
value 50 B3,B4 & B5
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 Mixed cell references
This is a combination of relative and absolute references
e.g.$A3 or A$3
$A3- column reference is absolute while row is relative
which is similar to relative reference.
A$3-column reference is relative while row reference is
absolute which is similar to absolute reference.
FUNCTIONS AND FORMULAS
Formulas use arithmetic operators to perform mathematical
operations. The arithmetic operators follow the rule similar to
mathematical concept of BODMAS
Functions are special entities for formulas that replace
complex lengthy calculations using formulas. For example
instead typing a long formula =(B1+B2+B3+B4+B5), you
simply type =SUM(B1:B5) on destination cell.
NB: (a)functions apply when you are calculating data of a
wide range i.e. when you are including all the cells between a
specific range e.g. From B1 to B5.

(b)In Excel a formula or a function must start with

equals sign(=)
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Examples of Excel Formulas

Symbol Description Example

/ Division =A2/B2
* Multiplication =A2*B2
+ Addition =A2+B2
- Subtraction =B2-A2
^ Exponentiatio =A2^2
n
=,<>,>,<,<= Relational =A2>=B2
,>=
FUNCTIONS
A function must start with an (=) sign followed by the function
name and arguments.
Arguments are numeric, logical values or text enclosed in
parenthesis.
In Ms Excel functions are categorized according to the nature
of problems they work on.
The most commonly used in-built functions include;-

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 Mathematical & Trigonometric functions
 Statistical functions
 Logical functions
 Date and time functions
Mathematical Functions
Some commonly used mathematical functions include;
a) =SUM(cell range)-adds all the values in the selected cell
range.e.g if A3,B3,C3 contains 20,50,80
respectively,=SUM(A3:C3) returns 150.
b) =ROUND(cell address,no of decimal places)-rounds a number to
a specified number of decimal places. zero rounds off a number
to the nearest integer e.g =ROUND(J3,2) rounds of contents of
cell J3 to 2 d.p
c) =SUMIF()-conditionally adds the specified cells according to the
set criteria.eg =SUMIF(A3:A10,”>=1000”) returns a value if and
only if ,the sum is greater than or equal to 1000
d) =PRODUCT()-multiplies all the values in the argument.eg
=PRODUCT(40,3,2) returns 240.
Statistical functions
e) =AVERAGE()-returns the arithmetic mean of its arguments.eg if
A3,B3,C3 contains 20,50,80 respectively, =AVERAGE(A3:C3)
returns 50
f) =COUNT()-counts the number of cells that contains numbers
within a range.eg =COUNT(A3:C3)
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c)=COUNTIF(cell range,”condition”)-conditionally counts the
number of cells within a range that meets a given condition.eg
if A3,B3,C3,D3,E3 contains 20,50,80,60,45 respectively then
=COUNTIF(A3:E3,”>50”)returns 2.
d)=COUNTA()-counts the number of cells in a range that are not
empty
d)=MAX()-returns the largest value in a set of values or within a
range.eg =MAX(A3:E3) for the values above returns 80.
e)=MIN()-returns the smallest value in a set of values or within a
range.eg =MIN(A3:E3) for the values in (c) above returns 20.
Logical Functions
a) =IF()-returns a value or label if a condition you specify is
evaluated to TRUE and another to FALSE.eg if A3,B3,C3,D3 and
E3 contained a set of marks 35,50,80,60,45,grades are to be
awarded as follows:
80-100 A
60-79 B
40-49 c
Below 40 FAIL
To assign a grade you will use:-
=IF(A3>=80,”A”,IF(A3>=60,”B”,IF(A3>=40,”C”,”FAIL”))) 10
 =AND( )-returns true if all its arguments are true or false and if
any argument is false.eg =AND(3+2=5,2+2=4) returns true
 =OR( )-returns true if any of its arguments is true or eg
=OR(3+2=7,2+2=4) returns true
 =NOT( )-negates the unary operand.eg=NOT(3+2=5) returns
false.
Date and Time functions
a) =TODAY( )-returns a number that represents today’s date. The
function takes no arguments.
b) =NOW ( )-returns the current date and time formatted as date
and time. It takes no arguments.
c) =DATE( )-function returns a serial number that represents a
particular date.Ms Excel uses year 1900 serial number 1.eg
=DATE(111,01,12) returns January 12,2011.Year=(1900
+111),month=1,day=12
d) =HOUR(),MINUTE() or SECOND()-function returns the current
hour as number 0 to 23,minute from 0 to 59 and second from
0to 59 respectively.

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Common Excel Errors
Correct a ##### error
Excel displays this error when a column is not wide enough to display all the characters
in a cell, or a cell contains negative date or time values.
For example, a formula that subtracts a date in the future from a date in the past, such
as =06/15/2008-07/01/2008, results in a negative date value.
Correct a #DIV/0! error
Excel displays this error when a number is divided either by zero (0) or by a cell that
contains no value.
Correct a #N/A error
Excel displays this error when a value is not available to a function or formula.
Correct a #NAME? error
This error is displayed when Excel does not recognize text in a formula. For example, a
range name or the name of a function may be spelled incorrectly.
Correct a #NULL! error
Excel displays this error when you specify an intersection of two areas that do not
intersect (cross). The intersection operator is a space character that separates
references in a formula.
For example, the areas A1:A2 and C3:C5 do not intersect, so entering the formula
=SUM(A1:A2 C3:C5) returns the #NULL! error.
Correct a #NUM! error
Excel displays this error when a formula or function contains invalid numeric values.
Correct a #REF! error
Excel displays this error when a cell reference is not valid. For example, you may have
deleted cells that were referred to by other formulas, or you may have pasted cells that
you moved on top of cells that were referred to by other formulas.
Correct a #VALUE! error
Excel can display this error if your formula includes cells that contain different data
types. If smart tags are turned on and you position the mouse pointer over the smart
tag, the ScreenTip displays "A value used in the formula is of the wrong data type." You
can typically fix this problem by making minor changes to your formula.
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