Introduction to Spreadsheets
A spreadsheet is used for processing numbers.
It is made up of a large grid or table.
Each box in the table is called a cell.
Each cell has an address (or cell reference).
Each cell can hold one of 3 things:
- Text
- Numbers
- Formula
Cells with formulas are able to process text or numbers in other cells.
You tell a cell you creating a formula by typing =
At it's very simplest the formula can be used to add two numbers together.
The real benefit of formulae is that you can tell it to add the contents of 2 cells together by using the cell references.
This is useful because if you change the contents of any cells used in the formula the answer will automatically update!
When writing a formula you will need to enter some simple formula to begin with that make use of the mathematical symbols +, -, × and ÷.
Not all of these symbols can be found on computer keyboards so we use some other symbols instead.
These symbols can easily be found on the keyboard number pad if you have a full size keyboard.
