Excel
Tutorial


This
is
intended
to
help
the
average
Physics
lab
student
create
a
proper
graph
and
utilize
some

of
the
tools
that
Excel
offers.


A. Creating
a
proper
graph

i. Enter
your
data
in
an
excel
spreadsheet
as
seen
in
Figure
1.




Figure
1:
Entering
your
data



ii. Make
sure
to
always
label
your
columns
with
names
AND
units.

iii. Highlight
the
data
that
you
wish
to
graph
as
seen
in
Figure
2.






Figure
2:
Highlighting
your
data
to
be
graphed



iv. Click
on
the
“Insert”
tab
at
the
top
left
of
the
excel
window
and
then
click
on
the

“Scatter”
icon
and
then
on
the
picture
of
a
graph
with
just
the
points
(no
lines)
as

seen
in
Figure
3.


Figure
3:
Choosing
your
Graph
 


v. This
should
insert
a
graph
as
seen
in
Figure
4




 Figure
4:
Inserting
your
Graph



vi. To
add
a
Trendline,
rightclick
on
one
of
the
points
of
the
graph
and
select
“add



Trendline…”
from
the
pop‐up
menu.
A
window
as
shown
in
Figure
5
should

appear.
 




Figure
5:
Trendline
menu
 

vii. Be
sure
to
select
the
proper
line
that
you
wish
to
create
from
the
menu.




viii. Make
sure
the
“Display
Equation
on
chart
is
selected”

ix. 

Also,
in
some
cases
you
will
be
asked
to
have
the
y‐intercept
set
to
zero.
This
can

be
done
by
selecting
the
“Set
Intercept
=”
field
and
typing
the
appropriate

intercept
into
the
box.

x. Once
you
have
made
your
selections
click
“close”
and
then
an
equation
should

appear
on
your
graph
as
in
Figure
6.






Figure
6:
Adding
an
Equation
and
Trendline


xi. To
make
your
graph
complete
you
MUST
add
a
title
and
axes
labels.
This
can
be

done
by
clicking
on
the
graph,
then
under
the
“Chart
Tools”
menu
click
on
the

“Layout”
tab.
From
this
menu
you
can
select
to
add
a
Title
and
axes
labels.
This

can
be
seen
in
Figure
7.

 ADD
CHART
AND
AXES
LABELS


Figure
7:
Adding
a
Chart
Title
and
Axes
Labels
 

xii. Once
you
have
added
a
Chart
Title
and
Axes
Labels
your
graph
should
look
like

Figure
8.


Figure
8:
A
completed
proper
graph



B. Using
the
Linest
Function


The
Linest
function
is
used
to
find
the
uncertainties
in
the
slope
and
the
y‐intercept

based
on
a
set
of
data.


i. After
you
have
followed
procedure
A.
Highlight
4
cells,
a
2
by
2
box
of
cells.
See

Figure
9.

 


Figure
9:
Highlighting
a
2
by
2
box
of
cells



ii. Then
type
“=linest(“
and
a
help
box
should
appear
as
in
Figure
10.


Figure
10:
Linest
function



iii. Highlight
the
values
that
should
go
on
your
y‐axis,
type
“,”
then
the
values
that

should
go
on
your
x‐axis,
then
“,1,1)”.
As
seen
in
Figure
11.
The
“1”
and
“1”
is

just
telling
the
Linest
function
to
do
the
usual
calculations
to
find
the
values
we

are
looking
for.


Figure
11:
Inputting
into
the
Linest
function



iv. Then
press
CRTL+SHIFT+ENTER.
This
will
display
4
numbers
as
seen
in
Figure
12.

 


Figure
12:
4
numbers
outputted
by
Linest



v. Notice
that
the
top
2
numbers
are
the
slope
and
the
intercept
also
found
in
the

graph.
See
Figure
13.


Figure
13:
Compare
Linest
to
the
graph



vi. The
numbers
below
the
slope
and
the
intercept
and
the
uncertainties
in
each,

respectively.
Although
Excel
gives
us
the
uncertainty
in
the
slope
and
in
intercept

to
many
digits,
remember
that
the
uncertainties
should
always
be
reported
to

one
significant
digit.


C. Using
Equations
and
the
“Fill”
tool


i. Excel
has
many
built
in
tools
to
help
you
calculate
things.
To
use
these
tools
you

need
to
enter
your
data
in
a
column.
As
shown
in
Figure
14.




 


Figure
14:
Entering
your
data
 

ii. The
average
velocity
is
defined
as
the
distance
divided
by
the
time
it
takes
to

travel
that
distance.
To
calculate
the
average
velocity
in
Excel
select
a
cell
and

type
“=B2/A2”
then
press
enter.
Notice
that
this
will
highlight
A2
cell
and
the
B2

cell
and
divide
them
and
put
the
answer
in
the
box
you
selected.
See
Figure
15

and
16.


Figure
15:
Typing
in
the
Formula



“Fill”
tool


Figure
16:
Calculating
the
value



Many
times
you
will
be
using
your
data
and
a
formula
to
obtain
a
calculated
quantity.

This
may
be
calculated
many
times
exactly
the
same
way
with
each
set
of
data
points.


The
“Fill”
tool
on
EXCEL
can
become
very
useful


iii. Once
you
have
calculated
the
value
in
the
first
box
you
can
use
the
“Fill”
tool
to

copy
this
formula
to
boxes
below.
You
do
this
by
clicking
on
the
first
box
and

then
clicking
on
the
small
black
box
at
the
bottom
right
hand
corner
of
the
cell

and
dragging
in
down
as
far
as
you
want
the
formula
to
be
copied.
See
Figure
16,

17
and
18.

 


Figure
17:
Dragging
the
Formula





Figure
18:
The
copied
Formula



iv. Notice
that
the
formula
has
been
copied
but
the
values
in
the
corresponding

place
have
been
used,
instead
of
the
A2
and
B2
blanks.
For
example,
the
average

velocity
in
C3
is
calculated
using
B3/A3=.769.