Spreadsheets

The purpose of a spreadsheet is to make models of real life situations. We can

ask what if questions or test out hypotheses by manipulating the inputs and
observing the outputs.
A spreadsheet consists of a large table. Each cell contains ONE piece of
information.
A row is a horizontal collection of cells and is represented by a NUMBER.
A column is a vertical collection of cells and is represented by a LETTER.

Formulae
To get in to formula view press CTRL + `
A formula is a simple calculation in a spreadsheet. Formulae begin with an = sign
and consist of CELL REFERENCES and make use of (), +, -, *, /
Formulae in Excel are automatically recalculated every time the input values are

C4 Input

B4 - Input

Column
Letter
Simple
Formula
e

changed.

Row
Numb
er
Click To
Highlight
ALL Cells

H9 Cell
Reference

Double click between any column

Functions
Functions are used to perform complex calculations which refer to RANGES of
cells.
All functions

have the same form:

=FUNCTIONNAME(RANGE)

Some functions
example:

may contain more attributes. For

=ROUND(M6,

2)

To use most
RANGES. A range

functions you must understand

is simply the START and END cell
reference of a
of cells E.g.
refers to all the
starting at M6
ending at M12.

group
M6:M12
cells
and

VLOOKUP

In the example above, we know the form group, and we have a table of tutors

stored separately.
So we can LOOKUP the tutor by finding the form in this table and looking one
column to the right.

VLOOKUP takes the form:

=VLOOKUP(What are you trying to find?, Where are you going to find it?, How
many columns across is the data you want back?, FALSE)

MAX and MIN

MAX and MIN will find the largest/highest or smallest/lowest number given in a

range.

SUMIF
SUMIF will add up all the numbers in a given range IF they match a given
criteria.
SUMIF takes the form:
=SUMIF(Range of cells to look in, criteria that must be matched)
It can also be extended in the form:
=SUMIF(Range of cells to look in, what you are looking for, range to add
numbers up in)
This version will allow you to look for a value in one column and then jump
across to another column abd add up values there instead.
Note: Criteria MUST be in quotes, unless it is a single number on its own.
COUNTIF
COUNTIF will keep a tally of how many times a given criteria appears in a
list. This example counts ABS.

Nested Functions (using Round and Average in this example)

A nested function is simply where one function is used inside another. In

this example we calculate the average and then the answer to this
calculation is rounded-because it is inside a ROUND function !

IF

The IF function allows TWO different outcomes, based on a rule. An IF

function takes the form:
=IF (RULE, what to do/display if true, what to do/display if false)
In the example above, the value P6 (their total score) must be higher or
the same as the value in B3 (the score needed for a certificate). If the
value in -6 is higher or the same, then the word YES will appear in the
cell. IF the value in P6 is NOT higher or the same, then the word NO will
be displayed.
It is often a help to remember that you write and IF statement exactly as
you would say it in words:
IF their test score is higher or the same as the pass mark, THEN say yes,
OTHERWISE say no
Note the key words IF, THEN, OTHERWISE.
NestedIF

Sometimes, we need to test more than one rule! The giveaway in the
question is in the word AND.
The question here was A student is awarded a prize IF they have had a
previous certificate AND they require a certificate.
There are clearly two things to check here:
1. Do they require a certificate?
2. Did they have a previous certificate

The way to answer these questions is to break it down (like above) in to

questions to be answered and then write and IF for each one. So
1. Do they require a certificate = IF(s6=YES, , )
2. Did they have a previous certificate = IF(H6=yes , ,)

Then we need to put them together:

=IF(S6=yes, IF(H6=yes , , ),)
This means If S6 is YES then check if H6 is YES. What do we do if
S6=NO (they do not require a certificate)? We say NO because they
will NOT get a prize. So we have this:
= IF(S6=YES,IF(H6=YES , , ), NO )
Now all that is left to do is fill in the remaining bits. What do we do IF they
had a previous certificate AND require a certificate? They get a prize, so
we say yes here:
=IF(S6=YES,IF(H6=YES, YES , ), NO )
Finally, we fill in what happens if they DO require a certificate but did NOT
get a previous one:
=IF(S6=YES,IF(H6=YES,YES , ), NO )
In words this is: IF they require a certificate, THEN if they had a previous
certificate THEN yes they get a certificate, OTHERWISE no they dont. If
they do NOT require a certificate then NO they do not get a prize.