CSC408 UiTM Sarawak MS-Excel Manual 1

CSC408:
MS Excel
Manual 1(Part 2)
Tutorial 2

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CSC408 UiTM Sarawak MS-Excel Manual 1

CSC408: MS-Excel Manual 1 (Part 2)

Prepared by: Adeena Mazwa Rabytah Binti Amir Abdullah
Compiled & verified by: Dr Azlina Bujang

This manual will cover the following topics:

1. What is Formulas and Functions?

2. Enter a Formula
3. Edit a Formula
4. Operator Precedence
5. Copy/Paste a Formula
6. Insert Function

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1. What is Formulas and Functions?

Microsoft Excel includes predefined formulas and functions. A formula is an expression which
calculates the value of a cell. For example, cell A3 below contains a formula which adds the
value of cell A2 to the value of cell A1.

Another example, cell A3 below contains the SUM function which calculates the sum of the
range A1:A2.

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2. Enter a Formula

To enter a formula, execute the following steps:

1. Select a cell.
2. To let Excel know that you want to enter a formula, type an equal sign (=).
3. For example, type the formula A1+A2.
Alternatively, you can also select cell A1 and cell A2 instead of typing A1 and A2.

4. Change the value of cell A1 to 3.

5. Excel automatically recalculate the value of cell A3. This is one of Excel’s most
powerful features.

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3. Edit a Formula

When you select a cell, Excel shows the value or formula of the cell in the formula bar.

1. To edit a formula, click in the formula bar and change the formula.

2. Press Enter.

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4. Operator Precedence

Excel uses a default order in which calculations occur. if a part of the formula is in parentheses,
the part will be calculated first. It then performs multiplication or division calculations. Once
this is complete, Excel will add and subtract the remainder of your formula. See the example
below:

First, Excel performs multiplication (A1*A2). Next, Excel adds the value of cell A3 to this result.
Let us look if we use parentheses in this case:

Now, Excel calculates the part in parentheses (A2+A3). Then, it multiplies this result by the
value of cell A1.

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5. Copy/Paste a Formula

When you copy a formula, Excel automatically adjusts the cell references for each new cell
the formula is copied to. To understand this, execute the following steps:
1. Enter the formula shown below into cell A4.

2. Select cell A4, right click, and then click Copy (or press CTRL + C).

3. Then, select cell B4, right click, and then click Paste (or press CTRL + V).

4. Alternatively, you can drag the formula to cell B4. Select cell A4, click on the lower right
corner of cell A4 and drag it across to cell B4. This is much easier and gives the exact
same result from step 2 and 3.

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5. As result, the formula in cell B4 references the values in column B.

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6. Insert Function

Every function has the same structure. For example, SUM(A1:A4). The name of this function
is SUM. The part between the brackets (arguments) means we give Excel the range A1:A4 as
input. This function adds the values in cells A1, A2, A3, and A4. It is not easy to remember
which function and which arguments to use for each task. Fortunately, the Insert Function
feature in Excel helps you with this.

To insert a function, execute the following steps:

1. Select a cell.
2. Click the Insert Function button.

The ‘Insert Function’ dialog box appears.

3. Search for a function or select a function from a category. For example, choose
COUNTIF from the Statistical category.

4. Click OK. The ‘Function Arguments’ dialog box should appear.

5. Click in the Range box and select the range A1:C2.

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6. Click in the Criteria box and type >5.

7. Click OK.

8. As result, the COUNTIF function counts the number of cells that are greater than 5.

Note: Instead of using the Insert Function feature, simply type =COUNTIF(A1:C2,”>5”).
When you are typing at =COUNTIF(, instead of typing A1:C2, you can simply select
the range A1:C2.

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TUTORIAL 2

In this exercise, you will have two worksheets in one workbook. Please read the instructions
carefully.

Grocery List Worksheet

1. Open a new black worksheet. Create the spreadsheet below by entering all the data.

2. Key in the spreadsheet and adjust columns widths as needed.

3. Insert a formula in each cell of the “Total Cost” column to calculate the total cost of
each item. Total cost is the quantity multiplies by the unit cost.
4. Use the SUM function to find the total cost of the entire grocery list. Insert this SUM
function in the cell to the right of Total Cost at the bottom row of the worksheet.
5. Save the workbook as CSC408_Manual2_StudentID.xls
6. Create a copy of existing worksheet. Rename the existing worksheet as List 1, and the
new worksheet as List 2.
7. In List 2 worksheet, make the following changes:
a. Milk to Almond Breeze
b. Potato chips to Pringles
c. Unit cost of lunch meat to $3.99

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d. Item to Grocery Item

e. Quantity of Cokes to 5
8. Add rows at the bottom of the worksheet List 2 for:
a. Average cost per item – use the AVERAGE function to find the average cost
of each item. (Hint: use only Unit Cost column to find the average).
b. Number of Items bought – use the COUNT function to find the total number of
items purchased. (Hint: use only Quantity column to find the number of items
bought).
c. Highest Priced Item – use the MAX function to find the highest priced item
bought. (Hint: use the Unit Cost column).
d. Lowest Priced Item – use the MIN function to find the lowest priced item
bought. (Hint: use the Unit Cost column).
9. Save your workbook as CSC408_ Tutorial 2 _StudentID.xls and submit.

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