Spread Sheet Uses

MAIN SELLING POINTS:

1. Do all sorts of calculations - e.g find your GPA depending if you get an A or B in CSC 171.
2. Make predictions:
   1. Change parameters - numbers that are variables that effect a mathematical model or calculation. [Remember - The predator Prey simulation is a math model.] You can check out different interest rates, find APR [annual percentage rates], the number of years of the loan, etc.
   2. Figure out your payments or returns for annuities, loans, savings accounts, etc.
3. Draw all kinds of graphs [charts] automatically; e.g. pie, XY and line, block or bar, 3 D, etc.
   
   
   Note the variety of graphs you can select
   
   
4. Do all kinds of sorting using various columns as keys or things that are alphabetized; - grade book sort by name, by grade on last exam, by final average, etc.
5. Leave blanks as reminders for you to fill in material.
6. Give wonderful over-views of how financial affairs are going, e.g. your portfolio, your sales business, the distribution of your products on the internet, etc.
7. Making numbers look pretty! [Format cells.] You can also change the fonts, paper orientation, border of cells, etc.
   
   
   Some of the options when you want to format a cell

DISADVANTAGES

1. Spread sheets are not very good at finding items in the layout. [Query]
2. Spread sheets are not very good at making nice text reports with a variety of output.
3. You can make mistakes easily because the formulas are hidden in the cells. It is important that you do "hand checks" on spread sheet calculations!

	Spread Sheet Cursors
Cursor Shape	How To Get	Purpose
arrow angles	put cursor on cell edge	to move cell contents
+ sign	put cursor inside cell	to select cell or cell range
text cursor	double click inside cell	to edit text
double arrow cursor	put cursor on top row or left column [labels]	to change size of column or row
+ corner at bottom right of cell	put cursor on bottom right corner	to automatically copy cells
	Special symbols
$	used to anchor a column or row location so the copy will not be relative	E4 will be copied relatively; but $E$4 this exact cell will not change when copied
@ or =	The symbol before any formula	enter from keyboard or formula icon [fx]
	Special Right Mouse Click Menus'
Move - Drag and Drop	Does not change the cells referenced in a formula
Copy and Paste	This operation copies the relative cells targeted by a formula =SUM(A1:C1) but when copies one cell over and two cells down will become =SUM(B3:D3)

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This page is Copyright 2002 by J. Barry DeRoos. All Rights Reserved.
This page may be distributed and used freely, provided that the copyright notices remain intact.
Last Modified: Jan 12, 2003.