Module 4-7

Introduction to Microsoft Excel

What is Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program used to record and analyze numerical and statistical data. Microsoft
Excel provides multiple features to perform various operations like calculations, pivot tables, graph tools, macro
programming, etc. It is compatible with multiple OS like Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.

An Excel spreadsheet can be understood as a collection of columns and rows that form a table. Alphabetical
letters are usually assigned to columns, and numbers are usually assigned to rows. The point where a column and a row
meet is called a cell. The address of a cell is given by the letter representing the column and the number representing a
row.

There are 5 important areas in the screen.

1. Quick Access Toolbar: This is a place where all the important tools can be placed. When you start Excel for the very
first time, it has only 3 icons (Save, Undo, Redo). But you can add any feature of Excel to to Quick Access Toolbar so that
you can easily access it from anywhere (hence the name).

2. Ribbon: Ribbon is like an expanded menu. It depicts all the features of Excel in easy to understand form. Since Excel
has 1000s of features, they are grouped in to several ribbons. The most important ribbons are – Home, Insert, Formulas,
Page Layout & Data.

3. Formula Bar: This is where any calculations or formulas you write will appear. You will understand the relevance of it
once you start building formulas.

4. Spreadsheet Grid: This is where all your numbers, data, charts & drawings will go. Each Excel file can contain several
sheets. But the spreadsheet grid shows few rows & columns of active spreadsheet. To see more rows or columns you
can use the scroll bars to the left or at bottom. If you want to access other sheets, just click on the sheet name (or use
the shortcut CTRL+Page Up or CTRL+Page Down).
5. Status bar: This tells us what is going on with Excel at any time. You can tell if Excel is busy calculating a formula,
creating a pivot report or recording a macro by just looking at the status bar. The status bar also shows quick summaries
of selected cells (count, sum, average, minimum or maximum values). You can change this by right clicking on it and
choosing which summaries to show.

Understanding the worksheet (Rows and Columns, Sheets, Workbooks)

A worksheet is a collection of rows and columns. When a row and a column meet, they form a cell. Cells are used to
record data. Each cell is uniquely identified using a cell address. Columns are usually labelled with letters while rows are
usually numbers.

A workbook is a collection of worksheets. By default, a workbook has three sheets in Excel. You can delete or add more
sheets to suit your requirements. By default, the sheets are named Sheet1, Sheet2 and so on and so forth. You can
rename the sheet names to more meaningful names i.e. Daily Expenses, Monthly Budget, etc.

Entering Data in a Cell

Handling Data would be one of the main reasons why you are using Excel. Excel is quite intuitive and simple to use when
it comes to typing data or handling it. Because of its grid nature, it can store & manage thousands of data points with
ease. Built in features like copy, paste, find, highlight, go to, styles etc. make the process of maintaining data very easy
for you.
 Worksheet cells can contain text, numbers, or formulas.
 Text is any combination of letters and numbers and symbols.
 Numbers are values, dates, or times.
 Formulas are equations that calculate a value.
 You enter data in the active cell.

Changing Data in a Cell

 You can edit, replace, or clear data.
 You can edit cell data in the Formula Bar or in the cell. The contents of the active cell always appear in the
Formula Bar.
 To replace cell data, select the cell, type new data, and press the Enter button on the Formula Bar or the Enter
key or the Tab key.
 To clear the active cell, you can use the Ribbon, the keyboard, or the mouse.

How to Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide in Excel

Open Excel. You will get a window similar to the one shown below. The outlook of Excel will depend on your version.

 Enter the data in your worksheet as shown in the image above.

 We will now perform the calculations using the respective arithmetic operators. When performing calculations
in Excel, you should always start with the equal (=) sign.
 Let's start with the one for addition. Write the following formula in E2 Excel (Result column)
 =C2+D2

HERE,
"=" tells Excel to evaluate whatever follows after the equal sign
"C2" is the cell address of the first number given by C representing the column letter and 2 representing the row number
"D2" is the cell address of the second number given by D representing the column letter and 2 representing the row
number.

Press enter key on the keyboard when done. You should get 16 as the result.

Using the knowledge gained in the above example, try to write the formulas for subtraction, division, and multiplication.

What are Formulas in Excel?

FORMULAS IN EXCEL is an expression that operates on values in a range of cell addresses and operators. For example,
=A1+A2+A3, which finds the sum of the range of values from cell A1 to cell A3. An example of a formula made up of
discrete values like =6*3.

=A2 * D2 / 2

HERE,

"=" tells Excel that this is a formula, and it should evaluate it.
"A2" * D2" makes reference to cell addresses A2 and D2 then multiplies the values found in these cell addresses.
"/" is the division arithmetic operator.
"2" is a discrete value.

Formulas practical exercise

We will work with the sample data for the home budget to calculate the subtotal.

 Create a new workbook in Excel.

 Enter the data shown in the home supplies budget above.
 Your worksheet should look as follows.

We will now write the formula that calculates the subtotal.

 Set the focus to cell E4

 Enter the following formula.

=C4*D4

HERE,

"C4*D4" uses the arithmetic operator multiplication (*) to multiply the value of the cell address C4 and D4.
Press enter key.

You will get the following result.

What is Function in Excel?
FUNCTION IN EXCEL is a predefined formula that is used for specific values in a particular order. Function is used for
quick tasks like finding the sum, count, average, maximum value, and minimum values for a range of cells. For example,
cell A3 below contains the SUM function which calculates the sum of the range A1:A2.

 SUM for summation of a range of numbers.

 AVERAGE for calculating the average of a given range of numbers.
 COUNT for counting the number of items in a given range.

The importance of functions

Functions increase user productivity when working with excel. Let's say you would like to get the grand total for the
above home supplies budget. To make it simpler, you can use a formula to get the grand total. Using a formula, you
would have to reference the cells E4 through to E8 one by one. You would have to use the following formula.

= E4 + E5 + E6 + E7 + E8

With a function, you would write the above formula as

=SUM (E4:E8)

As you can see from the above function used to get the sum of a range of cells, it is much more efficient to use a
function to get the sum than using the formula which will have to reference a lot of cells.

Common functions

Let's look at some of the most commonly used functions in ms excel formulas. We will start with statistical functions.
S/N FUNCTION CATEGORY DESCRIPTION USAGE
01 SUM Math & Trig Adds all the values in a range of cells =SUM(E4:E8)
02 MIN Statistical Finds the minimum value in a range of cells =MIN(E4:E8)
03 MAX Statistical Finds the maximum value in a range of cells =MAX(E4:E8)
04 AVERAGE Statistical Calculates the average value in a range of cells =AVERAGE(E4:E8)
05 COUNT Statistical Counts the number of cells in a range of cells =COUNT(E4:E8)
06 LEN Text Returns the number of characters in a string text =LEN(B7)
Adds all the values in a range of cells that meet a
07 SUMIF Math & Trig =SUMIF(D4:D8,">=1000",C4:C8)
specified criteria. =SUMIF(range,criteria,[sum_range])
Calculates the average value in a range of cells that
AVERAGEI
08 Statistical meet the specified criteria. =AVERAGEIF(range,criteria, =AVERAGEIF(F4:F8,"Yes",E4:E8)
F
[average_range])
09 DAYS Date & Time Returns the number of days between two dates =DAYS(D4,C4)

10 NOW Date & Time Returns the current system date and time =NOW()

Here is a list of important Excel Formula and Function

  SUM function = =SUM(E4:E8)
 MIN function = =MIN(E4:E8)
 MAX function = =MAX(E4:E8)
 AVERAGE function = =AVERAGE(E4:E8)
 COUNT function = =COUNT(E4:E8)
 DAYS function = =DAYS(D4,C4)
 VLOOKUP function = =VLOOKUP (C12, A4:B8, 2, FALSE)
 DATE function = =DATE(2020,2,4)

What is a Logical Function?

It is a feature that allows us to introduce decision-making when executing formulas and functions. Functions are used to;

 Check if a condition is true or false.

 Combine multiple conditions together.

What is a condition and why does it matter?

A condition is an expression that either evaluates to true or false. The expression could be a function that determines if
the value entered in a cell is of numeric or text data type, if a value is greater than, equal to or less than a specified
value, etc.

IF Function example
We will work with the home supplies budget from this tutorial. We will use the IF function to determine if an item is
expensive or not. We will assume that items with a value greater than 6,000 are expensive. Those that are less than
6,000 are less expensive. The following image shows us the dataset that we will work with.

 Put the cursor focus in cell F4

 Enter the following formula that uses the IF function

=IF(E4<6000,"Yes","No")

HERE,

 "=IF(…)" calls the IF functions.

 "E4<6000" is the condition that the IF function evaluates. It checks the value of cell address E4 (subtotal) is less
than 6,000.
 "Yes" this is the value that the function will display if the value of E4 is less than 6,000.
 "No" this is the value that the function will display if the value of E4 is greater than 6,000.

When you are done press the enter key, you will get the following results.

How to Create Charts in Excel

What is a chart?
A chart is a visual representative of data in both columns and rows. Charts are usually used to analyze trends and
patterns in data sets. Let's say you have been recording the sales figures in Excel for the past three years. Using charts,
you can easily tell which year had the most sales and which year had the least. You can also draw charts to compare set
targets against actual achievements.

Types of Charts in MS Excel

Different scenarios require different types of charts. Towards this end, Excel provides a number of chart types that you
can work with. The type of chart that you choose depends on the type of data that you want to visualize.

The following table shows some of the most commonly used Excel charts and when you should consider using them.

The importance of charts

  Allows you to visualize data graphically.
 It's easier to analyse trends and patterns using charts in MS Excel.
 Easy to interpret compared to data in cells.

Step by step example of creating charts in Excel

Below are the steps to create chart in MS Excel:

 Open Excel.
 Enter the data from the sample data table.
 Your workbook should now look as follows.

We will use the following data for this example.

Item 2012 2013 2014 2015

Desktop Computers 20 12 13 12

Laptops 34 45 40 39

Monitors 12 10 17 15

Printers 78 13 90 14

You should be able to see the following chart.

 Module 4-7

NAME: _______________________________________________________________ SECTION: __________________

Activity 6 (Written Task) – Directions: Complete the table by writing the excel formula needed.

A B C D
1 SUM 71 10
2 DIFFERENCE 100 71
3 MULTIPLICATION 29 18
4 SUM 214 241
5 DIVISION 420 85
6 SUM 314 821
7 DIFFERENCE 50 13
8 MULTIPLICATION 5 7
9 SUM 410 314
10 DIVISION 100 5
11 MULTIPLICATION 61 10
12 DIFFERENCE 5 2
13 DIVISION 1000 50
14 SUM 523 341
15 DIVISION 250 5

Activity 7 (Written Task) – Directions: Solve the mathematical equations given on the table above. Write your answer
on the space provided.

1. ____________
2. ____________
3. ____________
4. ____________
5. ____________
6. ____________
7. ____________
8. ____________
9. ____________
10. ____________
11. ____________
12. ____________
13. ____________
14. ____________
15. ____________

Activity 8 (Performance Task)

Working with data in a Spreadsheet
 Open a new Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet
 Title the sheet: Practice 1
 Enter the following information:
o Type "January" in Cell A1, press TAB
o Type "February" in Cell B1, press TAB
o Type "March" in Cell C1, press TAB
o Type "April" in Cell D1, press TAB
o Type "May" in Cell E1, press TAB
o Type "June" in Cell F1, press TAB
o Type "July" in Cell G1, press TAB
o Type "August" in Cell H1, press TAB
o Type "September" in Cell I1, press TAB
o Type "October" in Cell J1, press TAB

Selecting Ranges
Practice using holding your left mouse button to select a range (block) of cells.
Select A1 through J1.

Formatting Cells
Format the labels in Cell A1 through J1: Bold, Centered and Red
In Cell K1 type: TOTAL
Format the text in Cell K1: Bold, Centered and Blue

Save it with the file name “Last Name, First Name, Act8”

Rubric
0 5 10 15 20

Less than 25% of More than 25% More than 50% More than 75% All items
items completed of items of items of items completed
correctly. completed completed completed correctly
correctly correctly correctly
Activity 9 (Performance Task – Directions:

Add a new sheet to Excel Practice and title it "Practice 2"

Enter the following data into Excel. (Try the fill feature after you type January)
Labels: start in cell B1 January and fill to cell M1, February, March, April, May, June, July,
August, September, October, November, December
N1 Type Yearly Average
A2 Average Temperature
A3 Total Precipitation
Average Temperature: Total Precipitation
January was 15° January got 18"
February was 27° February got 12"
March was 45° March got 32"
April was 58° April got 29"
May was 64° May got 21"
June was 72° June got 6"
July was 79° July got 10"
August was 83° August got 15"
September was 78° September got 12"
October was 57° October got 8"
November was 42° November got 10"
December was 33° December got 10"

*Use a function in cell N2 and N3 for calculating the average temperature and precipitation.

Create Charts from the Data

Chart 1:
Create a Column chart that shows JUST the Average Temperature.
Make sure to include the labels on your chart
Name the chart "Average Temperature"

Chart 2:
Create a Chart that shows the JUST the Total Precipitation. Highlight cells A1-N1. Click
Ctrl and left click in cell A3-N3. The highlighted section should look like it does below.

Rubric
0 5 10 15 20

Less than 25% of More than 25% More than 50% More than 75% All items
items completed of items of items of items completed
correctly. completed completed completed correctly
correctly correctly correctly
Activity 10 (Performance Task) – Directions: Complete the table.

A B C D E F
1 Fruits Price Qty Total Total price >= 100 If formula
2 Apple 20 6
3 Orange 15 4
4 Cucumber 10 7
5 Dragon Fruit 30 5
6 Pear 20 5
7 Pineapple 50 4
8 Kiwi 10 5
9 Lemon 20 5
10 Mango 25 3

 Total Price – Cell D

 Yes/No (if the total price exceeds or equal to 100) – Cell E
 Excel Formula (If formula) to answer the “Total price >= 100” - Cell F