Spreadsheets --

Terminology
 
A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-
W-X-Y-Z

The first step of learning about spreadsheets is

understanding the terminology you will encounter as
you work through this lesson. The glossary below
lists terms that are specific to spreadsheet
applications. Terminology that we learned when we
looked at wordprocessing (such as copy, paste,
clipboard, etc.) also apply to spreadsheet
applications.

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1. Absolute Cell Reference: An absolute cell

reference is one that does not change when it
is copied. To make a cell reference absolute,
you must include a $ before the reference (ex:
$C$4).The other type of reference is a
Relative Reference..

2. Active Cell: The active cell is the cell in the

spreadsheet that is currently selected for data
entry. You can change which cell is the active
cell by clicking the left mouse button once or
using the arrow keys on the keyboard. The
current active cell can be identified as being
the one that has a darker black border around
it. Also, the active cell reference is listed in the
Name Box directly above the spreadsheet's
column headings.

3. Anchor Cell: The anchor cell is the first cell

that is highlighted in a range. When a range of
 cells is selected, they appear as highlighted in
black. The anchor cell, however, remains
white. If only one cell is selected in the sheet,
it is the anchor cell.

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4. Bar / Column Chart: A bar or column chart is

a style of chart that is used to summarize and
compare categorical data. The length of each
bar represents the aggregate value (ex: sum)
of that particular category. Bars run
horizontally and columns run vertically.

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5. Cell: A cell is a rectangular area formed by

the intersection of a column and a row. Cells
are identified by the Cell Name (or Reference,
which is found by combining the Column
Letter with the Row Number. For example the
cell in Column "C" in Row "3" would be cell
C3. Cells may contain Labels, Numbers,
Formulas or Functions.

6. Cell Name: By default, the name of a cell is

the cell reference. You may, however, define a
particular cell or range of cells with an
alternative name. This alternative name can
then be used in formulas and functions and
provide a quick way to jump to a particular
area of the spreadsheet.

7. Cell Reference: A cell reference is the name

of the cell that is found by combining the
Column Letter with the Row Number. For
example the cell in Column "C" in Row "3"
would be cell C3.

8. Column: Columns run vertically on the

spreadsheet screen. An Excel spreadsheet
 contains 256 columns that are labeled with the
letters of the alphabet. When the column
labels reach letter "Z" they continue on with
AA, AB, AC...... AZ and then BA, BB,
BC.....BZ etc.

9. Column / Bar Chart: A column or bar chart is

a style of chart that is used to summarize and
compare categorical data. The length of each
bar represents the aggregate value (ex: sum)
of that particular category. Columns run
vertically and Bars run horizontally.

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10. Data: Data refers to the type of

information that can be stored in the cells of a
spreadsheet. Spreadsheet data types include
values (numbers), labels, formulas and
functions.

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11. Enter key: The Enter Key on the

keyboard is used to accept any data that has
been typed in a cell and move the active cell
down vertically to the next one in a column.

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12. Fill: Fill is a feature that can be used to

quickly copy data from the anchor cell to an
adjoining range, updating the data if
appropriate. This means that if the anchor cell
contains a formula with relative cell
references, those references will automatically
update relative to their position when copied
to a new location. Fill can also be used to
automatically populate common lists of data
 such as days of the week or months. Fill can
be used to copy data either horizontally or
vertically in a range.

13. Fill Handle: The fill handle is the small

bold square in the bottom right corner of a cell
that can be used to copy (fill) data to adjacent
cells in the same row or column. When you
hover over the fill handle box, the mouse
pointer will change to a black plus sign. You
may then click the left mouse button, (and
hold it down) while selecting the adjacent cells
to copy to. Releasing the mouse button will
then fill the content.

14. Filter: Filtering will allow you to quickly

find the information that you are looking for in
a spreadsheet. When you apply a filter, you
control the data that is displayed on the
screen by setting criteria. Data contained in
rows that don't meet your criteria will
temporarily disappear from view when the
filter is applied. When the filter is cleared, all of
the data will once again appear in the
spreadsheet.

15. Formula: A formula is a spreadsheet

data type that will calculate a result and
display it in the active cell. A formula is written
using cell references and must begin with an
equal sign "=" to distinguish it from a label. An
example of a formula would be:
=A3+C3 which would take whatever value
was entered into cell A3 and add it to the
value that was typed into C3. After typing the
formula and pressing the Enter key, the
resulting value will be displayed.

16. Formula Bar: The formula bar appears

directly above the column headings of a
spreadsheet and will display what has been
typed into the active cell. For example, if you
click on a cell that contains the formula
=A3+C3, the cell itself will show the result of
 the formula. The formula bar, however, will
display what has actually been typed into the
cell which, in this case, is =A3+C3.

17. Freezing Columns and/or

Rows: Freezing is a technique that can be
used in larger spreadsheets to assist in
viewing the information on the screen. If a
spreadsheet contains many rows, you can
freeze the rows containing your heading
labels so that as you scroll down in the sheet
the headings stay at the top and line up with
the appropriate data. Likewise, if your
spreadsheet contains many columns, the
leftmost columns may be frozen so that they
stay with the data as you scroll to the right.

18. Function: Functions are built-in

formulas that are used to enter either
commonly used or very complex formulas.
Like formulas, functions begin with an equal
sign "=" and use cell references in their
format. One commonly used function is the
Sum function, which will add up the values in
a range. The function: =sum(H2:H25) would
add all values contained in cells
H2 through H25 and return the result when
the enter key is pressed.

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19. Gridlines: Gridlines are the horizontal

and vertical lines on the screen that separate
cells in a spreadsheet. Gridlines typically do
not print unless the option is set in the layout
options of the spreadsheet.

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20. Labels: Labels refer to text that is typed
into the cells of a spreadsheet. Labels have
no numeric value and cannot be used in a
formula or function..

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21. Name Box: The name box appears to

the left of the formula bar and displays the
name of the current cell. Unless you define a
cell or range of cells with a specific name, the
name box will display the cell reference of the
active cell.

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22. Pie Chart: A pie chart is a circular chart

that is divided up into sections, each of which
represents the numerical proportion of the
whole.

23. Print Area: The print area is used to

specify a range of cells that will be printed,
rather than printing an entire worksheet. This
is particularly useful for very large worksheets
with multiple columns and rows.

24. Print Titles: Print titles are used to

repeat column or row titles on each page. That
way, if a spreadsheet prints on multiple pages,
each page will contain the appropriate
headings to identify the data.

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25. Range: A range is a group of cells in a

spreadsheet that have been selected. If the
cells are all together in a rectangular or square
 shape, it is an adjacent range. An adjacent
range is identified by the cell reference in the
upper left and lower right corners of the
selection separated by a colon. (Example:
A3:B5). In this example, the range would
include all cells in the rectangular area formed
by beginning the highlighting in cell A3 and
dragging down to B5. You can consider the
colon as the word "through". In this case, the
range would include cells A3 through B5.

If there are gaps between selected cells (cells

are separated by rows or columns) the range
is a non-adjacent range. Areas of a non-
adjacent range are separated by commas
when referenced in a formula. (Example: A3,
A4, B5). The comma in a non-adjacent range
is like the word "and". In this example, our
range would be cells A3 and A4 and B5, but
not the cells in between.

26. Relative Reference: A relative cell

reference is one that changes when it is
copied. For example, if a formula that contains
the cell reference "C4" is copied to the next
cell to the right, the reference will change to
D4 (updating the column letter). If the same
formula is copied down one cell, the reference
will change to "C5" (updating the row number).
The other type of reference is an Absolute
Reference.

27. Rows: Rows run horizontally on the

spreadsheet screen. An Excel spreadsheet
contains 16,384 rows which are labeled
numerically.

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28. Sheet Tabs: In Microsoft Excel, the

sheet tabs appear below the worksheet grid
area and allow you to switch from one
 worksheet to another in a workbook.

29. Sort: Sorting is used to arrange

information in a particular order. When sorting
data, you may choose multiple levels of
criteria and sort in either ascending or
descending order. For example, a
spreadsheet of data could be sorted first
alphabetically in ascending order by last name
and then by first name.

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30. Tab Key -- The tab key on the keyboard

is used to accept any data that has been
typed in a cell and move the active cell
horizontally to the next one in a row.

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31. Values: Values are numeric data that is

entered into a cell. When data is formatted as
the value type, it can be referred to in formulas
and functions and used in calculations.

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32. Workbook: A workbook is a collection

of worksheets that are saved together in one
file. Individual worksheets can be given
descriptive names and you can switch from
one worksheet to another by using the sheet
tabs that appear beneath the worksheet grid
area.
 33. Worksheet: A worksheet is the grid of
columns and rows that information is inputted
into. In many spreadsheet applications (such
as Microsoft Excel) one file -- called a
workbook -- can contain several worksheets.
Worksheets can be named using the sheet
tabs of the bottom of the spreadsheet window.
The sheet tabs can also be used to switch
from one worksheet to another within a
workbook.

GRADE 10 - SPREADSHEET ASSIGNMENT

Answer all questions.

A B C D E F G
1 KINGSTON COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY
2 PROGRAM 2001 2002 2003 TOTAL AVERAGE STATUS
3 Certificate 15 21 18
4 Diploma 500 600 700
5 Degree 1200 1100 900
6 Post-grad 10 15 12
7 MINIMUM
8 MAXIMUM

1. What Microsoft Excel feature would you use to align the heading across cells A1 to G1?
Merge and Centre
2. What formatting features were used for the heading?
___BOLD_____________gcvg__________________
3. Write the function in cell E3 to calculate the total =SUM(B3:D3)
4. Write the function in cell F5 to calculate average =AVERAGE(B3:D3)
5. Write the function in cell B7 to calculate minimum =MIN(B3:B6)
6. Write the function in cell D8 to calculate maximum _=MAX(D3:D6)
7. Write a function to calculate the number of programs offered  =COUNTIF(A3:A6,“*”)
8. Write a function to calculate the number of years in the spreadsheet =COUNT(B2:D2)
9. In the STATUS box (G3), write a function to display the word “Good” if the Total exceeds
1000, and “Not Good” if the Total is less than 1000.
=IF(B3:D3>1000,"goog",IF(B3:D3<1000,"not good"))

a. All text entries into the spreadsheet are known as___Labels______

b. By default, numerical entries into a spreadsheet are aligned to the_Right_____
c. What type of cell reference is $B$7? What is the purpose of such cell reference __Absolute
It stops the row and column number from changing when copied to other
cells
 d. All of the following are formatting of numeric values in a spreadsheet except:
General b. custom c. percentage d. value