1. Spreadsheets and Charts A Beginner’s Guide
Oak Mountain High School

2. What is a Spreadsheet? A spreadsheet ...
is an application software package
can store and manipulate large amounts of data
is an electronic version of a ledger
consists of a grid from columns and rows
is a computation tool
can accurately compute mathematical formulas
has the ability to create charts and graphs
can be used to create a tables

3. A spreadsheet is ... the electronic version of a ledger.
It is a grid made from columns and rows.
The nice thing about using a spreadsheet is that you can experiment with numbers without having to RE-DO all of the calculations!

4. USES OF SPREADSHEETS
Record Keeping
Analyze data
Forecasting - asking “what if” questions

5. Basics of a Spreadsheet
Spreadsheets are made up of
columns
rows
cells

6.  COLUMNS…  COLUMNS go vertically - up and down.
They are defined by Letters which go across the top of the grid.

7. ROWS go horizontally - left to right
Rows are defined by Numbers which go down the left side of the grid.

8. CELL... The CELL is the space where the column and the row intersect.B6
The CELL is named according to its Column letter and Row number.
It is where the information is stored.

9.  Types of Data  Cells can contain four types of data.
LABEL - anything that is just text
ex. Title or Items or Cost
VALUE - any number
ex. 8 or 3.14 or -59.6
FORMULA - math equation
ex. =8*5 or =6+8/4
FUNCTION - built in formula
ex. =SUM(A1:A5)

10.  LABELS 
LABELS help us identify what the numbers stand for… they help us understand the spreadsheet.
LABELS are text entries - they have no numerical value.

11.  VALUES  Values are used to enter FIXED number data.
A value can be any kind of specific number:
currency, percent, decimal ...

12. # Working with VALUES #
When you are working with values, you must use the appropriate symbols.
+ is the symbol for addition
- is the symbol for subtraction
* is the symbol for multiplication
/ is the symbol for division

13.  FORMULAS  Formulas are equations that performs calculations.
All formulas MUST BEGIN with an equal sign (=).
A formula will be displayed on the screen as a number, but the formula bar will show the formula.

14.  FUNCTIONS 
Functions are built in equations that perform calculations automatically
All functions MUST BEGIN with an equal sign (=).
A function will be displayed on the screen as a number, but the formula bar will show the function.

15. FEATURES OF SPREADSHEETS
Variable column width - you can change the width of columns
Click on the line between columns and drag
Go to Format, Column, Width
Go to Format, Column, Autofit - adjusts column to largest entry
Automatic spill over (only works on labels, not numbers)
Sorting
Alphabetical and Numerical

16.  Charts or Graphing 
You can use the Chart Wizard to help you make a chart or graph.
There are 16 types of charts you can choose from. The type of chart you pick usually depends on the data you are using!
Examples:
Pie charts
Bar graphs
Line graphs

17. ADVANTAGES OF SPREADSHEETS
Ability to store data and formulas
Ability to recalculate
Speed
Accuracy

18. POPULAR SPREADSHEET PACKAGES
Microsoft Excel
Quattro Pro
Lotus 1-2-3