IPT Preliminary Spreadsheets

SPREADSHEETS
A spreadsheet uses a rectangular grid
made up of rows and columns to
organise and store data that requires
some type of calculation.
Who might use a spreadsheet?
- Scientists
- Engineers
- Small Businesses
- People who work in finance

SPREADSHEETS
There are two types of spreadsheets:
Manual
Electronic

SPREADSHEETS
What are the 5 benefits of electronic over
manual?
- Ease of calculation
- Ease of editing
- Recalculation
- Ease of storage
- Display options

SPREADHSEET STRUCTURE
Spreadsheets consist of COLUMNS and
ROWS.
Rows are numbered (1,2,3,4..)
Columns are labeled alphabetically
(A,B,C,D..)
A CELL is the intersection of a column
and a row. The position of a cell in a
spreadsheet is referred to as its cell
reference.

SPREADSHEET DATA TYPES
Data is entered into the cell as a label,
value or formula.
Labels: The text entered into a cell to
explain part of the spreadsheet.
Values: Numbers stored in the
spreadsheet.
Formulas: The instructions to perform a
calculation.

EXCEL
When we refer to spreadsheets created
in Excel data is entered into an Excel
Worksheet.
The Worksheet is the table we can see
made up of columns and rows.
A Workbook is an Excel file that contains
one or more Worksheets.

ENTERING AND EDITING DATA
If you wish to enter data into a cell then
click on the cell you want to select.
When a cell is selected, the borders of
the cell appear bold. Also, the column
heading and row heading are
highlighted.
To select multiple cells, you click the
first cell, hold and drag your mouse until
all desired cells are selected, and then
release your mouse.

ENTERING AND EDITING DATA CONT.
To select a row or column click the row
or column that you want to select, and
the entire row or column will be
highlighted.
You can copy and paste information by
highlighting a cell and right clicking on
the mouse to view copy and paste
options.
The ‘Fill down’ or ‘Fill right’ commands
also allow users to copy data across
rows or down columns.

ENTERING AND EDITING DATA CONT.
The easiest way to edit data is by
highlighting the cell and making changes
in the Formula Bar which appears at the
top of the worksheet.
Spreadsheets allow users to search for
specific data that is part of a label, value
or formula and replace it if required,
using the Find and Replace functions.
Cell size can be adjusted by dragging
out the column width and row height.

LAYOUT
A well-designed spreadsheet has four
areas called the..
Instruction area: contains information
about the spreadsheet or directions for
use of the spreadsheet.
Input area: contains labels for headings
and values on which calculations are
based.

LAYOUT CONT.
Calculation area: contains formulas and
functions that complete the work of the
spreadsheet.
Output area: displays the result of the
spreadsheet (this can be the same as the
calculation area).

FORMULAS
A formula is an instruction to perform a
calculation. Formulas are input into the
spreadsheet, then whenever values
change the formula will recalculate and
produce a new result.
A formula starts with a particular symbol.
In Excel this is the = symbol.
Formulas consist of four main elements:
Numbers, Cell References, Operators
and Functions.

FORMULAS CONT.
A formula refers to a cell by using the
cell reference.
Formulas can reference a number of
cells at once by using the colon ‘range’
operator :
The result of the calculation will appear
in the cell once a formula is entered.
The formula for a selected cell will
appear in the formula bar.

OPERATORS
Operators: the symbol/s which are used
in formulas to perform a specific
process.
Operators can be grouped as either
Arithmetic, Relational or Text (see Table
7.1 in Powers).
If more than one operator is used in a
formula then the calculation is
completed according to mathematical
rule.

FUNCTIONS
Functions are built in formulas that are
designed to perform simple or complex
calculations.
There are a range of different functions
to suit different tasks. They fall under the
headings of Arithmetic, Statistical or
Logical functions.

RELATIVE REFERENCING
Relative referencing: allows you to copy
the mathematical processes in a formula
(such as the operators and functions)
while changing the cell references so
that they relate to the new destination
cell.
Relative referencing is the default option
so no special symbol is required.

ABSOLUTE REFERENCING
Absolute referencing: means that the cell
references in a formula do not change if
the formula is copied or moved.
The $ sign is used to indicate an
absolute cell reference.
Mixed cell referencing can also be
achieved by placing a $ sign in front of
only part of the formula ($E$5*D5 when
moved to D6 will read E5*D6)

CHARTS
A chart is a graphical representation of
numerical data. Selecting the correct type of
chart to display the spreadsheet data can
help the user to understand data trends and
view comparisons.
There are four types of charts:
Bar Charts
Column Charts
Line Charts
Pie Charts

CHART FEATURES
Axes: the lines that border the chart
data.
(X-axis: runs horizontally, Y-axis: runs
vertically)
Chart title: Describes the information
within the chart
Axis title: identifies an axis.
Data labels: provide more information
about the data
Legend: a key that explains the patterns,
colours or symbols associated with the
chart data.

BAR CHARTS
A bar chart presents data in horizontal
rectangles. The length of the rectangle
gives a visual representation of its value.
Numeric values are plotted along the the
X-axis and categories along the Y-axis.

COLUMN CHARTS
A column chart presents data in vertical
rectangles. The height of each rectangle
gives a visual representation of its value.
Categories are plotted along the X-axis
and numeric values along the Y-axis.

LINE CHARTS
A line chart presents data by joining
adjacent values with a line. Each value is
plotted along the line using a data
marker or data point. Catagories are
plotted along the X-axis and numeric
values along the Y-axis.

PIE CHARTS
Pie charts present data as sectors of a
circle. Each area of the sector is a data
marker and there is always only one data
series.

IPT Preliminary Spreadsheets

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IPT Preliminary Spreadsheets