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You can store, organize and present your data in a computer program called a spreadsheet.

Glossary

grid A grid is something which is in a pattern of straight lines that cross over each other, forming squares. On maps the grid is used to help you find a particular thing or place.

row A row of things or people is a number of them arranged in a straight line.

intersection An intersection is a place where lines or roads meet or cross.

cell A cell is one of the small squares in a chart or spreadsheet into which you can add a single piece of data.

A spreadsheet appears as a table or grid containing a set of rows and columns. Rows are displayed horizontally on the grid and each one is labelled with a number (1, 2, 3 …); the label for each column is a letter (A, B, C …) and columns are displayed vertically across the grid.

The empty spreadsheet grid shown below has eight rows and five columns, but a spreadsheet in a computer program will have many, many more rows and columns.

The intersection of a row and a column is called a cell. Each cell has its own name, which consists of the letter of the column followed by the number of the row. The highlighted cell in the spreadsheet grid shown above is called C5 – it is where column C and row 5 meet.

Tip

Use the glossaries to help you with some of the key words in this book. Consider making similar lists for your modules to help you learn key words.

Exercise 12

Look at the section of a spreadsheet below, and answer the questions.

	A	B
1	Subject	Grade
2	Statistics	80%
3	Information Systems	67%
4	Sociology	65%
5	Academic Skills	53%
6	Business and Management	74%

1 What is contained in the following cells?

a A6

b B3

2 What is the reference for the cells that contain the following?

a The number ‘53%’

b The word ‘Statistics’

The data values in each spreadsheet cell can be displayed in different ways depending on how the information is described. You can use:

text

numbers

currency

dates and times

The spreadsheet opposite records the food purchased by a shopper at a supermarket. Row 1 in this grid is used to show the names of the columns so that it is easy to understand what information is being stored.

A spreadsheet is very useful for performing simple calculations. It uses formulae to perform operations such as addition, subtraction and multiplication.

The following spreadsheet shows the different nationalities of students enrolled on an English course. It includes a formula which uses the individual numbers of each nationality to calculate the total number of students enrolled on the course. The formula is usually hidden from view and only the result is displayed.

Glossary

formula A formula is a group of letters, numbers or other symbols which represents a scientific or mathematical rule.

The formula SUM(B2:B8) is used to calculate the total of number of students enrolled on the course. It adds up the numbers in cells B2 to B8. If a number in one of these cells is changed, then the result of the formula is automatically updated by the spreadsheet.

So, if another French student enrols on the course, then the cell B5 becomes 4 and the total in cell B10 is changed automatically to 44 to include the new student.

Once you have organized your data in a spreadsheet, it is then possible to use the computer program to create graphs and charts to display the information in a visual way. The bar chart below has been created using the data in the previous example.

For more information on graphics, see Chapter 8.

Tip

When using spreadsheets, you can click on the Help button in the computer program to search for advice on how to use formulae for calculations.