Week 1: Excel Spreadsheets

Why is Excel widely used?

It is installed on most computers, easy to start with, and has advanced features.

What are some advantages of using Excel?

Visual format is easy to inspect, automatically updates for sensitivity testing, and has convenient inbuilt tools.

What is a disadvantage of using Excel for visual display?

Visual display updating can lead to slow models.

Why might someone prefer other software over Excel for graphing?

Better graphing or tools may be available in other packages.

What is a common issue with Excel files?

They can have large file sizes.

How does Excel help in checking calculations?

It displays every calculation, which is useful for prototyping, checking, and interrogating.

Screen Elements

Components visible on an application window that allow user interaction.

Tabs

Sections in the Ribbon that categorize functions such as Home, Insert, and Data.

Formula Bar

An area where you can view and edit the contents of the active cell.

Title Bar

The bar at the top of the window displaying the name of the document and the application.

Ribbon

A toolbar at the top of the application that contains various functions organized into tabs.

Scroll Bars

Elements that allow users to move through the document or spreadsheet content.

Conditional Format as Cell

A feature that allows changing the appearance of a cell based on conditions.

Active Cell

The currently selected cell in the worksheet, where data can be entered or modified.

AutoSum

A function that quickly sums a range of selected cells.

Sheet Tabs

Tabs at the bottom of the Excel workbook for navigating between different sheets.

IF Statement

A conditional statement that executes a particular action based on whether a specified condition is TRUE or FALSE.

Logical Test

An expression that evaluates to either TRUE or FALSE in an IF statement.

IF Statement Syntax

The format used to write an IF statement: =if(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false]).

Nested IF Statement

An IF statement used within another IF statement to test multiple conditions.

Decision Tree

A visual representation of a decision-making process that outlines various outcomes based on different conditions.