Page 54 - Computer Basics- Student Textbook

Study Section 8: Microsoft Excel - continued

8.1 Connect

Did you know that you can become a computer programmer using Excel? The program provides a
place where you can create “formulas,” which are instructions for the calculations you desire. A
programmer provides the computer instructions in how to operate. Today, you are going to learn
how to provide instructions for managing your numbers in your spreadsheet. Let’s get started…

8.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to create his/her own formulas and perform a mathematical function
(addition, subtraction, etc.) on a column of numbers.

2. The student should know, as in all mathematical functions, the operation preferences when
calculating a series of numbers.

3. Once a document is created, the student should be able to save and print the document or create a PDF
document to send digitally.

8.3 Writing your Own Formulas.

Notice in the example to the right, we have two sets of figures we have added to obtain totals. Cells
are labeled first by the column they are in (in our example, column A) and then the line number
located at the far left of the spreadsheet. Cell A1 has been filled with a value, $123.

The cell labeled A7 is a sum of A1 thru A6. The
cell labeled A13 is the sum of A9 thru A12. If you want to total
those two sums, you can click on a new cell and type in the
formula: =A7 + A13. Notice the program will highlight A7 in
blue and A13 in red, letting you know which cells you have
entered in your formula to add. If you push the return button,
Cell A15 will add A7 and A13 and give you a grand total.

Another way of writing this formula is: =SUM(A7, A13). Notice
that a comma separates the two cell names.

Say you want the sum of a consecutive RANGE of cells. Write
the formula this way: =Sum(A1:A13). The difference is that you
enter a colon which tells Excel you want to include all cells in
between the first cell and last cell.

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