A Brief Introduction to Spreadsheets
A spreadsheet contains a grid of cells where each cell is a calculator. Each cell can work independently or link with other cells for more complicated calculations. A cell is identified by its column letter and row number.
In the spreadsheet below groceries for January can be found in cell C3.
| A | B | C | D | |
| 1 | Item | Budget | January | February |
| 2 | Rent | $650 | $650 | $650 |
| 3 | Groceries | $200 | $195 | $210 |
| 4 | Utilities | $250 | $250 | $250 |
Spreadsheets don't just contain numbers and calculations, but also contain labels so that the numbers are easily identified. By default, numbers are right aligned and labels are left aligned. Like in a word processor you have MANY formatting options.
As mentioned earlier, a spreadsheet is a calculator. Not only can you add two numbers, but you can add two cells. Cell referencing is where the power of a spreadsheet lies.
| A | B | C | D | |
| 1 | Item | Budget | January | February |
| 2 | Rent | $650 | $650 | $650 |
| 3 | Groceries | $200 | $195 | $210 |
| 4 | Utilities | $250 | $250 | $250 |
| 5 | Totals | =650+200+250 | =C2+C3+C4 | =SUM(D2:D4) |
Row 5 of the table shows formulas to add the values of the cells above. In column B they are added as you would in a calculator. In a spreadsheet you should never retype numbers that are on the sheet. In column C they are added using the cell references. When a number on the sheet is needed we should always use its cell reference. In column D they are added using the function SUM(). Notice that the argument of the function is D2:D4. The colon means that all cells in between D2 and D4 should be used. This is referred to as a range of values. The method in column D is the best method to use.
Explore this Sample Spreadsheet Links to an external site. to see examples of formating options, formulas, and functions.
Your next assignment is to go to GcfLearnFree.org and complete each challenge for their Google Sheet lessons Links to an external site..
OPTIONAL: If you want or need more practice with spreadsheets, then check out Google's tutorial, Google Sheets Introduction Links to an external site..