Introduction to Spreadsheets with Microsoft Excel

A spreadsheet is a computer program (or a document produced by such a

program) that we can use for arithmetic computations. A spreadsheet offers
major advantages over the use of a hand calculator (just as a word
processing program offers many advantages over typewriting). Among the
advantages of a spreadsheet over a hand calculator:
A spreadsheet produces a document that can be read, printed, and stored
and retrieved.
A spreadsheet can have its calculations done in a fashion by which they
may be redone automatically if any of the data values upon which they
depend, are changed.
The numbers that appear in a spreadsheet are easily used as the
foundation of charts or graphs that may be used to illustrate the
relationships among these numbers. !e can build bar charts, pie charts,
line charts, etc.
"tc.
#ou can launch the "$cel program by clic%ing its button (shows &) or
by clic%ing 'tart, All (rograms, )icrosoft *ffice, )icrosoft *ffice "$cel
+,,-. !hat appears is a workbook, which is a set of worksheets. "ach
wor%sheet may be regarded as a separate document.
.ote the grid/li%e appearance of a wor%sheet. 0ts columns are labeled by
letters (A, 1, 2, 3, 4, AA, A1, A2, 3). 0ts rows are numbered. The
intersection of a column and a row is a cell, labeled first by column and then
by row. 5or e$ample, cell 26 is the cell in column 2 and row 6.
7ata may be entered into the cells of a wor%sheet in many types, including
Te$t data: typically consisting of words or phrases8 typically used for
e$planation (e.g., row or column headers)8 typically not used in
arithmetic. .ote we may enter more te$t than a cell, in its current
configuration, can display. !e can stretch or shrin% a column or row by
placing the mouse cursor at the right edge of a column margin header or
the bottom edge of a row margin header, holding down the left mouse
button, and dragging to the desired width or height.
.umeric constants may be entered as te$t is entered. These values are
typically used in arithmetic.
5ormulas are used to describe a calculation whose value is to be
displayed in the cell. A formula typically starts with the 9 character
and may involve a variety of symbols that may be cell references,
functions, operators of arithmetic, and constants (numeric, te$t, etc), as
well as cell ranges. 5or e$ample, the formula
92+/1+
instructs the cell in which it appears to display the result of ta%ing the
value in 2+ and subtracting the value in 1+. .otice that the cell
reference (name, address) is treated as a variable : the name of a ;uantity
that has a value, which is substituted for the name of the cell in a
formula.
.ote formulas may be copied/and/pasted, in fashions familiar from
!ord. 0ndeed, many "$cel operations are performed in a fashion similar
to the analogous operation in !ord. This is a hallmar%, originally of
suite software (such as )' *ffice) : that similar operations are
performed similarly among the pac%ages of the suite, so that once you
have learned the first pac%age of the suite, the others become easier to
learn. <owever, this is now a hallmar% of all !indows software, and of
all )acintosh software : many common operations are performed the
same way in various software pac%ages.
Another way to copy/and/paste a cell: 0f the source and destination cells
are contiguous, you can bloc% the source cells, then hold down the left
mouse button on the copy/and/paste handle (a tiny s;uare) in the lower
right corner of the source while dragging the highlight over the
destination cells.
A copied formula is not necessarily literally copied. =ather, its form is
copied, with all relative cell references modified by both the column
translation and the row translation between the source and destination
cells of the copy/and/paste. 5or e$ample, if we copy from 7+, the
formula
92+/1+
we get the following:
7estination cell 2olumn
translation
=ow translation (asted formula
7- 7 to 7: no
change
-/+9> 92-/1-
7? 7 to 7: no
change
?/+9+ 92?/1?
7@ 7 to 7: no
change
@/+9- 92@/1@
7A 7 to 7: no
change
A/+9? 92A/1A
There are hundreds of functions available to "$cel users. !eBll tal% about
some of the most/commonly used functions. A function is used in a formula
with notation of the form
nameOfFunction(arguments)
where the arguments (also called parameters) are the data values to which
the function should be applied. 0f there are multiple arguments, they are
separated by commas. 5or e$ample:
The 'um function may be used total the values of its arguments. 5or
e$ample, the formula
9'C)(1+:1A)
uses the 'C) function to total the values in the range of cells 1+:1A :
that is, the contiguous rectangle of cells whose top left corner is cell 1+
and whose bottom right corner is cell 1A. The same calculation could
alternately be made using the formula
91+D1-D1?Db@DbA
'imilarly, if we used
9'um(1+:7+, "@:56, +E)
this would mean compute the sum of all cells in 1+:7+ and "@:56 and
the constant +E. This is an e$ample of a function using multiple
arguments (theyBre separated by commas) and note also that one of its
arguments (+E) is not a cell reference.
.ote that if a numeric cell displays a configuration of the F character, it
doesnBt mean that an error has occurred : rather, it means the column
isnBt wide enough to display the cellBs value in its current format.
.ote that a wor%sheet can be renamed as follows: 7ouble/clic% on its tab
and edit its name.
.ote among number formats is 2urrency (button with the G image). A
negative number in this format (and in some other formats) is displayed
without a leading minus sign, using parentheses instead of the minus sign
: this is a common practice in accounting.
The operators of arithmetic:
*perator "$planation "$ample
D Addition 91+D7+
/ 'ubtraction (also as
leading minus sign as in
constants: /?)
92-/1-
H )ultiplication 97IH7>,
J 7ivision 9KIJK>,
L =aise to a power
(e$ponent)
97>?L+
.ote a cell reference need not be typed into a formula8 it can enter a
formula via cursor pointing (clic% on the cell).
The 'um function can enter a formula by clic%ing the Autoformat button
(has a M). !hen you clic% this button, not only does the 'um function
appear in the formula youBre editing, but it does so with a range of cells
proposed for its argument list. #ou may edit this range if the proposal is
incorrect.
The )a$ function may be used to compute the ma$imum value among its
arguments. 5or e$ample, the formula
9)A&(1+:1I)
computes the ma$imum value among the cells in the range 1+:1I.
.ote formulas can be viewed and printed as follows: 2lic% Tools, *ptions.
*n the Niew tab, chec% the 5ormulas chec%bo$ by clic%ing in it. 2lic% the
*O button. #ou may need to adjust column widths or row heights before
printing.
The )in function is used to compute the minimum value among its
arguments. 5or e$ample, the formula
9)0.(1+:1I)
computes the mimimum value among the cells in the range 1+:1I.
The Average function is used to compute the average value among its
arguments. 5or e$ample, the formula
9AN"=AK"(1+:1I)
computes the average value among the cells in the range 1+:1I.
To wrap te$t circularly from line to line within a cell: 5or the cell(s) in
which you would li%e to wrap te$t, if necessary, stretch the row of the cell to
the desired height8 clic% 5ormat, 2ells8 on the Alignment tab, chec% the
!rap te$t chec%bo$ and clic% *O.
The 0f function is used to choose between two possible ways of ma%ing a
calculation. 5or e$ample, the formula
905(7+P?,,,,, >Q, >.+@Q)
is interpreted as follows: if 7+ (net income) is less than G?,,,,,, then
evaluate the formula (for a ta$ rate) as >Q8 otherwise, evaluate the
formula as >.+@Q. )ore generally, itBs used in the format
0f(logicalCondition, trueValue, falseValue)
/ where the logicalCondition is an e$pression that evaluates as True or
5alse8 the trueValue is the e$pression to evaluate the 0f function by if
the logicalCondition is True8 and the falseValue is the e$pression to
evaluate the 0f function by if the logicalCondition is 5alse.
The =ound function is used to ma%e roundoff part of a calculation. 0ts
form:
=ound(expression, decimallaces)
The result of using =ound: the value of the expression is rounded off (in the
result of the calculation) to the number of decimallaces specified by the +
nd
parameter. 5or e$ample, many unrounded calculations of money generate
fractions of a penny that may add up, in totals, to apparent errors. To avoid
such apparent errors, we can round these calculations. 5or e$ample, in
computing a ta$payerBs ta$, the e$act calculation 97+H"+
(net income times ta$ rate) may have fractions of a cent, but
9=ound(7+H"+, +) is rounded off to the nearest
penny.
A wor%sheet can be inserted into a wor%boo% by clic%ing 0nsert, !or%sheet.
Another, more comple$, e$ample: To pay an hourly employee who may
have overtime hours, we can use the formula
905(2+R?,,?,H1+ D (2+/?,)H1+H>.@, 2+H1+)
which we can e$plain as follows, assuming 2+ is the hours wor%ed, ?, is the
number of hours used as the overtime theshhold, 1+ is the hourly rate of
pay:
The condition 2+R?, is the test for the e$istence of overtime. 0f itBs true,
we compensate the employee by using the subformula
?,H1+ D (2+/?,)H1+H>.@. This represents two terms. The first term,
?,H1+, is the regular pay for ?, regular hours at hourly rate 1+. The
second term, (2+/?,)H1+H>.@, is the overtime pay, since 2+/?, is the
number of overtime hours, which are multiplied by 1+ (the base rate of
hourly pay) and by >.@ (the time/and/a/half factor).
*therwise (if the condition 2+R?, is false), the employee has no
overtime, hence is paid by the value of 2+H1+, the hours times the
hourly rate.
As above, the possibility of fractions of a penny being calculated and
distorting subse;uent calculations ma%es it desirable to modify the formula
above to
9=*C.7(05(2+R?,,?,H1+ D (2+/?,)H1+H>.@, 2+H1+), +)
There are hundreds of other functions available to "$cel users. )ore
information may be found in the "$cel <elp system.
5ormatting features include the following:
A cell with a numeric value may be displayed in the 2urrency format
(shows a currency symbol such as G) by clic%ing the 2urrency button, or
the 2omma format by clic%ing the comma button. 1oth of these formats
show negative numbers in parentheses without a leading negative sign8
both show commas if the number re;uires enough digits. 5or the
2urrency format, you may change the currency symbol by clic%ing
5ormat, 2ells8 on the .umber tab, choose the 2urrency category and
choose the desired currency symbol.
The percent format is called into play via the (ercent button.
*ther number formats can be chosen by clic%ing 5ormat, 2ells8 on the
.umber tab, choosing the desired 2ategory. .otice the 'cientific .otation :
for e$ample, the value displayed as -2.2849E+03
represents /+.+6?I times >, to the -
rd
power : more generally,
the " represents times >, to the power.
The default alignments are: te$t values aligned to the left within their
cells8 numeric values aligned to the right within their cells. 'ometimes
these defaults are undesirable. 5or e$ample, column headers should
appear over the data in their columns, but this may not happen in a wide
column if we rely on default alignments. !e may use the alignment
buttons (similar to those of !ord) to align data within its cell as
appropriate.
#ou may change font effects such as boldface, italics, underlining,
highlighting (fill color), font siSe, font color, font style, etc., much as in
!ord.
#ou may choose various border styles for a cell or group of cells by
clic%ing 5ormat, 2ells8 on the 1order tab, choose the desired border style.
#ou can control the number of displayed decimal places in a cell by using
the 0ncrease 7ecimals and 7ecrease 7ecimals buttons.
!e may use the power of a spreadsheet to recalculate to ma%e the
spreadsheet a powerful e$perimental tool. 5or e$ample, suppose you find
yourself in the following situation: #ou must decide the percentage of pay
raises awarded to each of several employees, subject to the following
constraints:
(ay raises should average about -Q.
)ore/productive employees (rated on a scale of > to @ (>: worst)) get a
higher percentage.
The total increase should be at least -Q of the previous yearBs total.
The total increase should be at most G>,, more than -Q of the previous
yearBs total.
.otice the use of the A.7 function. !e want to say we have a valid
function if and only if
)inimum increase P actual increase P ma$imum increase, or
">+ P9 ">, P9 ">-.
<owever, "$cel wonBt interpret the latter notation correctly. .otice that a
chain of ine;ualities is an abbreviation: The above, interpreted as an
algebraic statement, is short for
">+ P9 ">, and ">, P9 ">-.
Thus, in "$cel, we use the formula
9A.7(">+P9">,, ">,P9">-)
!elative versus Fixed ("bsolute) "ddresses: 5or e$ample, to compute for
each of several students the studentBs percentage, we want to ma%e a
calculation of the form
('tudentBs total) J (total possible)
/ for the student in row +, if the total possible is in <>@, this might call for a
formula such as
9<+J<>@
and we might then thin% we can copy this formula down its column : but
this doesnBt correctly, because we want <>@ to be the denominator in every
studentBs formula, but, for e$ample, the denominator copies as <>A for the
student in row -.
!e use the G character to fi$ either a row reference or a column reference (or
both) in a formula. 5or e$ample, all of the following refer to cell <>@:
<>@ : relative in column, relative in row
G<>@ : fi$ed (absolute) in column, relative in row
<G>@ / relative in column, fi$ed (absolute) in row
G<G>@ / fi$ed (absolute) in column and in row
The purpose of using a fi$ed (absolute) reference is to fi$ the reference in a
copy/and/paste operation : that is, do not adjust the reference, but copy
unadjusted.
'uppose we copy a formula from cell "A to cell 56. .ote the translations
between the copied cell ("A) and the pasted cell (56) are:
2olumn translation: 5rom " to 5 : > column to the right. Thus, all
relative column references in the copied formula are adjusted by >
column to the right.
=ow translation: 6/A9+ rows downwards. Thus, all relative row
references in the formula are adjusted by + rows downwards.
All other parts of the formula are copied e$actly (without adjustment). This
includes fi$ed references.
5or e$ample,
0f "A has the formula then 56 will have the formula (after
pasting)
9'C)(1+:1@)J7+ 9'C)(2?:2E)J"?
9'C)(G1+:G1@)J7+ 9'C)(G1?:G1E)J"?
9'C)(1G+:1G@)J7+ 9'C)(2G+:2G@)J"?
9'C)(G1G+:G1G@)J7+ 9'C)(G1G+:G1G@)J"?
Thus, in the previous e$ample, we could compute a studentBs percentage by
either of the following formulas:
9<+JG<G>@ or
9<+J<G>@ / the latter, because we were only copying within
the same column, so that even if the denominator uses a relative column
reference, the column translations between the copied and pasted cells are all
by , columns, so even a relative column reference is not adjusted.
An amortiSation schedule is a document by which we can study how a loan
is repaid. Among the uses of an amortiSation schedule:
'ometimes, interest payments are ta$/deductible, so we can use an
amortiSation schedule to total the interest payments during a ta$ year.
Toans are often refinanced as interest rates change. 0n order to do this,
we can use an amortiSation schedule to determine the current balance
owed, which then becomes the principal of a new loan at the new interest
rate.
!eBll construct our amortiSation schedule as a modified version of an
ordinary annuity. This is a loan repaid so that the payment coincides with
the interest period, and each payment is made at the end of the period. *ur
modification: usually, an ordinary annuity re;uires all payments to be of the
same siSe8 instead, weBll assume that all but the last payment are of the same
siSe, and the last payment will be a balloon payment of whatever is
re;uired to pay off the loan.
5or the e$am:
!hen you sign the attendance list, 0Bll deliver the e$am file to your
7igital 7ropbo$. #ou should clic% the lin% to the e$am file. A dialogbo$
will offer you the choice of *pening or 'aving the file. 0 recommend you
choose 'ave (to your dis% or networ% space), because if you choose
*pen, you can wor% with the !ord document, but it will be inside a
browser window, which you may find an odd way to wor% with a !ord
document. Then use a !ord window to open the e$am file and proceed
to ta%e the e$am.
!hen you finish the e$am, save your file on #our disk or network space
: students who have saved to the local computerBs hard drive or )y
7ocuments in the past have often lost their files, forgetting where they
saved to. Then, submit the saved file via the 7igital 7ropbo$.
7ata may be integrated between many application programs by means of
copy/and/paste operations. This includes "$cel and !ord wor%ing as a pair
of application.
A useful tool of a spreadsheet is the capability of generating charts (graphs).
A chart is generated by bloc%ing the data that is to serve as its foundation,
then clic%ing the 2hart !iSard button. This button ta%es you through a ?/
step wiSard process in which you ma%e choices about the type and
appearance of your chart.
>. The first step is choosing the desired chart type and subtype. Among
the chart types are 2olumn, 1ar, (ie, Tine, etc. These each have
subtypes. 5or e$ample, the 2olumn chart type has subtypes for
2lustered 2olumn, 'tac%ed 2olumn, >,,Q 'tac%ed 2olumn8 these
come in +/dimensional and -/dimensional versions.
+. 0n this step, we can determine the source data and how it will be used.
The initially chosen data (what we bloc%ed before clic%ed the 2hart
!iSard button) is what appears, initially, in the 7ata =ange te$tbo$.
0f you wish, you can edit this range. Also, you can choose the 'eries
in setting. 5or e$ample, in a 2lustered 2olumn chart, this setting
determines the clustering of columns : we may have a cluster for each
column label, or a cluster for each row label. 'ometimes, both
choices are reasonable8 sometimes, one choice ma%es more sense than
the other.
-. This step gives us many options concerning the details of the chartBs
appearance. 5or e$ample, on the Titles tab, we can enter titles to
appear over the graph, along the vertical a$is, along the horiSontal
a$is, etc. (sometimes, itBs reasonable not to use these entries). *ther
tabs can also be used to affect the appearance of the chart, as we have
now e$plored.
?. At this step, we can choose to ma%e the chart a 2hart sheet : a
separate sheet within the wor%boo%, that could be printed or viewed as
a separate document8 or an object in another sheet, typically the
wor%sheet its data came from. 0f placed as an object of a wor%sheet,
the chart can be moved within the wor%sheet, or resiSed within the
wor%sheet, in familiar fashion : using the same methods we
previously used to reposition or resiSe graphic objects in !ord
documents. 5urther, we reposition or resiSe sub/objects of the chart :
for e$ample, we can resiSe the legends (e$planations of colors) of the
chart.
'uppose the raw data values of a wor%sheet are changed. !ill a chart
based on these data be redrawnU #es
Among the chart types we have considered:
!e have seen that a clustered column chart allows us to group columns
within a category. 5or e$ample, in our Tab *bservations wor%sheet, we
created such a chart to illustrate, for each lab animal, weight before and
after the e$periment.
A stac%ed column chart illustrates how items contribute to a total.
A pie chart typically is used to show how items contribute proportionally
to a total.
A line chart is typically used to graph trends over time.
A stoc% chart is typically used to show a range of data corresponding to a
data series. A typical application: charting the range of prices of selected
stoc%s (bonds, other assets). 0f we choose the <igh/Tow/2lose subtype,
then for each series (company), we get a vertical line segment running
between the Tow and <igh values in height, with the 2lose value
mar%ed. Another e$ample we have already set up for which this chart
type is appropriate is illustration of class performance on graded
e$periences: we have a wor%sheet in which, for each graded e$perience,
we have summary data in the order <igh 'core, Tow 'core, Average
'core (which is between the <igh and the Tow).
'uppose we wish to create a chart based on non/contiguous data from the
source wor%sheet. This can be done in either of the following ways:
Cse step + of the 2hart !iSard process to remove unwanted data from
consideration. That is, before clic%ing the 2hart !iSard button, bloc% a
bloc% of data that includes the desired data8 then use 'tep + of the 2hart
!iSard process to remove the unwanted data. The 'eries tab of the stepBs
dialogbo$ can be used to =emove unwanted series of data.
!e can bloc% non/contiguous data as follows: 5irst bloc% contiguous
data, then hold down the 2trl %ey while running the bloc% over another
bloc% of contiguous data (the first bloc% remains highlighted). =eleasing
the left mouse button finishes the bloc%ing.
There are certain features that are probably more useful in very large
wor%sheets:
'uppose there is a cell to which you must refer, using a fi$ed reference,
in many different formulas. 0f your wor%sheet is large, often that cell will
be out of view, and you may have difficulty remembering its address.
#ou can use the name bo$ (where the address of the current cell
normally appears) to give the cell a mnemonic name that can be used in
formulas as a fi$ed reference to the cell.
0f your wor%sheet is large and your computer is slow, you may notice a
delay for recalculation every time a data value is entered or changed. 0f
you have to wait several seconds between data entries for recalculation to
ta%e place, you could end up wasting significant time. 0f you wish to
disable (probably, temporarily) the automatic recalculation feature, you
may do so as follows: 2lic% Tools, *ptions. *n the *ption dialogbo$B
2alculation tab, choose )anual. As a result, we must manually stri%e
the 5I %ey to have the wor%sheet recalculate. !hen youBre ready to
restore automatic recalculation, similarly clic% Tools, *ptions. *n the
*ption dialogbo$B 2alculation tab, choose Automatic.
'uppose you want to refer to a cell of a different wor%sheet in a formula.
5or e$ample, you might have one wor%sheet for each of your ta$
schedules, with one schedule needing data that is calculated in another
schedule. (erhaps the easiest way: use cursor pointing to address the
desired cell in the formula youBre editing. 5or e$ample, if cell 1+ of the
'chedule >,?, wor%sheet needs the total interest income, which is in
1I of the 'chedule 1 wor%sheet, then 1+ of 'chedule >,?, is
defined by the formula
9V'chedule 1VW1I
/ this illustrates that reference to a cell in another wor%sheet ta%es the form:
name of source wor%sheet enclosed in apostrophes, followed by an
e$clamation point, followed by the name or address (relative, fi$ed, or
mi$ed, as appropriate) of the desired cell.