Standard Grade Computing Studies
Unit 7 – Spreadsheet
Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Class: . . .
Bishopbriggs Academy
Contents:
Unit 8 - Spreadsheets
SS1 – Using a Spreadsheet Package
3
• What a Spreadsheet is
3
• What can be held in cells
4
• Simple formulae
5
• Homework / Written exercise 1
6
• Foundation Examination type Question
7
SS2 – Making Changes
8
• The changes that can be made to the
layout of a spreadsheet
8
• The common built-in functions
9
• Manual and automatic calculation
10
• Cell protection
10
• Homework / written exercise 2
11
• General Examination type Question
12
SS3 – Advanced Features
2
14
• What is cell referencing?
14
• Why do we use IF statements?
15
• Why we use graphs
15
• Homework / written exercise 3
16
• Credit Examination type Question
17
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SS1
Using a Spreadsheet Package
In this chapter you will learn
•
•
•
What a Spreadsheet is
What can be held in cells
Simple formulae
A spreadsheet is a General Purpose Package which is used
mainly to deal with numbers and formulas.
It is basically an electronic sheet of squared paper, each
square is called a cell. It is usually laid out like this:
formula line
Definitions
Cell
a location (box) in a spreadsheet where
something can be stored. Each cell can be
identified by its cell reference. The cell
reference is made up of the column letter and
row number, i.e. C7, B2
Row
a horizontal line of cells going from left to
right. Rows are numbered from 1 upwards.
Column
a vertical row of cells. Columns have their own
letter.
Unit 7 – Spreadsheets
3
What can be held in cells?
1.
Text
labels, column headings etc.
2.
Numbers
whole numbers, decimals etc
3.
Formulae
a mathematical operation performed
on the contents of other cells.
Description
Unit cost
Quantity
Total
Crisps
Soft Drink
Coffee
0.3
0.35
0.4
4
6
5
=B3*C3
=B4*C4
=B5*C5
Text
Numbers
Formula (it is the
answer you would
see here not the
formula)
On the Screen this completed spreadsheet would look like
this…
Description
Crisps
Soft Drink
Coffee
4
Unit cost
Quantity
£0.30
£0.35
£0.40
Total
4
6
5
£1.20
£2.10
£2.00
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Entering simple formulae
Almost any of the common mathematical ‘sums’ can be
performed in a spreadsheet like multiply, divide, add and
subtract. The signs are:
*
+
/
Multiply
Add
Subtract
Divide
A formula sets out the calculation that has to be carried
out on data.
For example:
= A4 + A5
this would add the contents of cell A4 and
A5 together.
=D6 * D9
this would multiply the contents of cells D6
and D9 together.
Notice that the formula always starts with an equals sign
(=).
Most spreadsheet packages use the equals(=) sign at the
start of a formula.
The equals sign must be the very first character in the cell
for the spreadsheet to recognise that that cell contains a
formula.
Unit 7 – Spreadsheets
5
Homework / Written Exercise 1
1
2
3
4
A
Name
Joe
Mary
Fred
B
Test1
C
Test2
5
6
9
D
Total
E
3
1
2
1.
What is the value of the cell in a) A1
2.
Which cell has the value
3.
What formula might you enter in cell D2?
4.
Which two other cells would you expect to contain a
formula?
5.
Write down what these formulas would be.
6.
What values would you expect to see in each of those
cells?
7.
How do you indicate to a spreadsheet that you are
entering a formula?
8.
The title average is entered in cell E1. Write down a
formula to calculate Joe’s average, in cell E2.
9.
Now write down the formulas to calculate Fred and
Mary’s average marks in cells E3 and E4.
6
b) B2
a) Joe b) 3
c) A4
c) 2
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Foundation Level Exam type question
When a customer goes into the Pizza company to place an
order, the following information appears on the screen.
A
Pizza
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Tomato
Pineapple
Ham
Pepperoni
B
Price
C
Quantity
£3.50
£3.70
£3.90
£4.20
D
Cost
2
£7.40
1
£4.20
Total
£11.60
In this case the customer has ordered 2 pineapple pizzas
and 1 pepperoni pizza at a total cost of £11.60.
(a)
What type of application package is being used?
(b) (i)
Name one cell that contains text.
(ii) Name one cell that contains a value.
(iii) Name one cell that contains a formula
Unit 7 – Spreadsheets
7
SS2 – Making Changes
In this chapter you will learn about:
• the changes that can be made to the layout of a
spreadsheet
• the common built-in functions
• manual and automatic calculation
• cell protection
Changes that can be made to a spreadsheet.
Alter the column width – If your label or column
heading is too long to fit inside the cell then the column
width can be made bigger to fit it in. The column width
can also be made smaller to suit the entries in the cell.
A good reason for increasing the column width is to make
sure that there is enough room to display the formulas
properly.
Item
Chair
Number Unit Cost
4
£ 25.00
Cost + VAT
=B2*C2 * 1.175
Alter cell format/attributes – The attributes of a cell
dictate how the data is to be displayed.
Cell attributes can be changed in the following ways:
• numbers can be displayed to any number of decimal
places you like
• numbers can be set to appear as currency
• data can be centred, left aligned or right aligned
3 Dec. Places Currency
1.230
£ 1.20
8
Centred
1
Left
2
Right
3
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Insert rows or columns – This allows you to enter new
rows and columns into your spreadsheet to make room for
more data or formula.
Common built-in functions
A spreadsheet also has a number of built in functions
such as SUM and AVERAGE these allow us to perform
more complex calculations.
The function:
=AVERAGE (A1..B3)
This would find the average of the cells between A1 and
B3.
=MAX (A1..A10)
This would find the biggest number in the list from A1 to
A10
=Min (A1..A10)
This formula would find the smallest number in the list
from A1 to A10
=SUM (A1..A10)
This would add up the contents of cells A1 to A10
Unit 7 – Spreadsheets
9
Automatic and manual calculation:
Automatic calculation
As soon as you enter your formula into your spreadsheet
the software will automatically carry out the calculation.
When you change a value in a cell any other cells that are
affected by that value are changed (automatically).
Manual Calculation
This means you have to tell the software to perform the
calculation.
Replication
Replication simply means copying. If you have lots of
similar formulas to enter into cells then they can be copied
down a column or across a row. This can save the user a
lot of time at the keyboard.
Item
Sofa
Chair
Footstool
Sideboard
Standard Lamp
Coffee Table
Bookcase
Number
1
4
2
1
2
2
2
Unit Cost
£ 569.99
£ 124.60
£ 49.99
£ 363.00
£ 74.32
£ 190.30
£ 275.00
Cost
=B2 * C2
=B3 * C3
=B4 * C4
=B5 * C5
=B6 * C6
=B7 * C7
=B8 * C8
Cell Protection
Cell protection can be ‘turned on’ in a
spreadsheet to make sure that the contents of
a cell are not changed or erased by accident.
Cell protection ensures that a cell cannot be
edited until the protection is turned off.
10
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Homework / Written Exercise 2
1.
Why is it sometimes necessary to change the width of
a column?
2.
What is meant by a cell "attribute"?
3.
State three attributes that can be altered in a cell.
4.
What is meant by a built in function?
5.
Give two examples of a built in function.
6.
What is meant by:
a) Inserting a new row
b) Deleting an existing column
7.
State two ways you might alter the format of a sheet.
8.
Why do you need to justify labels?
9.
What is meant by 'replicating data'?
10. How can you stop someone changing the contents of
a cell by accident?
Unit 7 – Spreadsheets
11
General Level Exam type Question
Perfect patios are a company which design and install
patios. Jim works as a salesperson for perfect patios.
When Jim visits a house, he measures the area for the
patio and helps the owners choose a suitable building
material.
Jim uses a computer to calculate the cost during the visit
to the house.
(a)
Suggest a suitable type of computer for this task
_______________________
(b) Give a reason for your answer.
_____________________________
Here is an example of the basic spreadsheet which Jim
uses to get estimates for customers.
Perfect Patios
Estimate
Item
Unit Cost Quantity Item Cost
Grey Monoblock
0.2
500
100
Red Monoblock
0.26
130
33.8
Foundation(bag)
1.81
16
28.96
Labour (hours)
8
32
256
Total
418.76
(c)
12
The contents of D4 have been calculated by the
computer. Suggest a formula that could have been
entered in cell D4.
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(d) The contents of cell D8 have also been calculated by
the computer. Suggest a formula that could have
been entered in cell D8.
(e)
When Jim made the spreadsheet, he did not have to
type all the formulas. He was able to replicate some
of them.
(i) Which cells did he replicate?
(ii) Which cells did it need to be replicated into?
(f)
The customer decides also to include some black
monoblock brick. Explain what Jim will have to do to
the spreadsheet before he enters the data.
(g)
Jim wants all the costs in column D to appear as
money. Explain how Jim will do this.
Unit 7 – Spreadsheets
13
SS 3 Advanced features of a
Spreadsheet
In this chapter you will learn
•
•
•
What is cell referencing?
Why do we use IF statements?
Why we use graphs.
As we often need to copy or replicate certain formulae over
and over again between cells it is important that we use
the correct method of cell referencing.
Relative Referencing: the references to cells in formulas
change according to the formula’s
new position in the sheet when the
formula is replicated. By default,
all cell references are assumed to
be relative.
Absolute Referencing:
The references to cells in
formulas remain the same when
the formula is replicated. Absolute
references to cells in a formula are
usually indicated by including $
signs i.e. $B$2
A
1
B
C
D
VAT=
0.175
3
item
price
VAT
total cost
4
TV
400
=$B$1*B4
=B4+C4
5
video
250
=$B$1*B5
=B5+C5
6
camera
120
=$B$1*B6
=B6+C6
2
In column C, cell B1 is referenced absolutely so it has
not changed, but references to the other cells have
changed relatively.
14
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Conditions
This is a very useful facility of the spreadsheet. It is
usually called an ‘IF’ statement and it allows you to make
choices, depending on the values placed in other cells. It is
often used in spreadsheets to calculate discounts, VAT etc.
A
1
item
B
C
D
cost
number sold
total cost
2
3
jacket
50
4
200
4
dress
30
6
162
5
shoes
20
7
126
6
bag
10
5
50
The values in column D are the results of an IF
statement in this case…
= IF( C3>5, B3 * C3 *0.9, B3 * C3 )
This formula calculates a discount of 10% on sales of more
than 5 items.
Graphs
Large complicated spreadsheets may contain thousands of
numbers arranged in their rows and columns. Most
people would find this difficult to understand or to be able
to see any trends or patterns in the figures.
The figures in a spreadsheet may be turned into a graph.
A graph represents the numbers as a picture. This makes
the numbers easier for us to understand and to spot any
trends or patterns within the numbers.
Unit 7 – Spreadsheets
15
Homework / Written Exercise 3
1.
What are the two ways of referencing cells before
replicating in a formula?
a)
What is the difference between them?
b)
Give an example of where each might be used.
2.
What is used to represent data in pictorial form?
3.
A teacher uses a spreadsheet to keep a record of a
class’ test marks. The record also calculates pupils
and class average.
16
a)
Give two reasons why this is a better method of
keeping the class records than writing them on
paper.
b)
Explain how can the spreadsheet be used to
show if a student has passed or failed their test?
Bishopbriggs Academy - Standard Grade Computing Studies
Credit Level Examination type Question
1.
Stephanie uses a spreadsheet to keep track of her
fantasy football team. A section of the spreadsheet is
shown below.
Position
Player ID
Goalkeeper
Defender
Defender
Defender
Defender
Defender
Midfielder
Midfielder
Midfielder
Forward
Forward
113
231
343
544
765
235
983
571
120
109
208
Name
Davidson
Hart
Janario
McTavish
Parnevic
Leconte
Daniel
Michaels
Thierry
Foe
Christian
Totals
Funds Available
Valid Team?
(a)
Player Cost
Week 1
Week 2
(£M)
Score
Score
3.3
-2
4.4
4
5.2
0
1.9
0
3.8
2
4.5
-6
6.7
5
1.3
6
0.8
2
4.7
3
7.9
0
44.5
14
1
2
2
9
4
3
0
0
3
2
6
32
50
YES
Formula are used to calculate the column totals in
D14, E14 and F14. The formula in cell D14 was
replicated into the other two cells.
What is meant by the term replicating?
(b) Write down the formula that has been entered into
cell D14.
Unit 7 – Spreadsheets
17
(c)
When the formula was replicated, was relative
referencing or absolute referencing used? Explain
your answer.
(d) Cell B16 contains a formula to show if a team is valid
or not. A team is valid if the total player cost in D14 is
Less than or equal to the funds available in B15. If a
team is valid, the cell shows “YES” and if not the cell
shows “NO”.
What formula should be entered into cell B16?
18
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