Basic Excel Review Questions One of the most important and most difficult tasks with learning how to use Microsoft Excel is learning the jargon and terminology. 1. What is a workbook? 1 ANSWER. A Microsoft Excel workbook is a file that contains one or more worksheets, which you can use to organize various kinds of related information. You can enter and edit data on several worksheets simultaneously and perform calculations based on data from more than one worksheet. 2. What is displayed in the name box? 2 ANSWER. the address or name of the active cell. You can also use the Name box to go to a specific cell by typing in the cell address. 3. What is the intersection of a column and row in Excel called? 3 ANSWER. a "cell" 4. What is the default number of sheets in a workbook? 4 ANSWER. 3 is the number of default sheets in a workbook 5. What tasks can you perform in the formula bar? 5 ANSWER. In the formula bar we can enter equations to perform calculations on values in the worksheet. The formula bar is used to enter data or modify data in a cell of an Excel spreadsheet. 6. What symbol is typed before a number to make the number a label? 6 ANSWER. In Microsoft Excel, you can enter numbers as labels or as values. Labels are alphabetic, alphanumeric, or numeric text on which you do not perform mathematical calculations. Values are numeric text on which you perform mathematical calculations. If you have a numeric entry, such as an employee number, on which you do not perform mathematical calculations, enter it as a label by typing a single quotation mark first. 7. What is an example of a function? 7 ANSWER. A function is a predefined formula that helps us simplify workbook calculations. The values that a function uses to make the calculations are called arguments, and if a function contains multiple arguments, each is separated from the other by a comma. Excel provides about 400 built-in functions, such as SUM, COUNT and PMT, to help us build formulas. 8. What is a predefined formula for a commonly used calculation called? 8 ANSWER. A predefined formula in Excel is called a function. Functions are commonly used formulas built into the standard Excel package. A few examples would be SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MIN and MAX. 9. What symbol precedes a formula entered in the formula bar? 9 ANSWER. The equals (=) sign. 10. What is the purpose of the fill handle? 10 ANSWER. The fill handle allows you to apply the properties, contents, and/or formulas in one (or several) cells to any cell that you drag the fill handle over. It saves the time that it would otherwise take in typing the same formula in many cells. 11. What character is used to create an absolute cell reference? 11 ANSWER. The dollar ($) sign. For example, the cell reference "$A$3" is an absolute cell reference that always points to the cell in the first column and third row. 12. How does a mixed cell reference differ from an absolute or relative cell reference? 12 ANSWER. By default all cell references are relative. When copying a formula containing relative cell references, the cells in the formula change in rows and columns relative to the change between the source and the target cell. An absolute cell refence is indicated by adding a dollar sign ($) in front of the row and column (ex $A$2). This indicates that the row and column will not change when the formula is copied. In mixed cell reference you set either the column or the row as an absolute cell reference but allow the other half of the cell reference to change in a relative way to the copy & paste locations. (ex $A2 or A$2) 13. What is conditional formatting? 13 ANSWER. This is a feasture that can be used in a situation where you want Excel to bold a number if it above 100 for example or the font should be red if the number is below zero. Basically, the format of the cell is determined by the conditions that you have set. In general, conditional formatting is a way to apply special formatting to cells if a particular condition is met. 14. How many conditional formats can be created for a specific cell? 14 ANSWER. Conditional formatting is applied to a cell to see if the data within a cell meets given criteria, up to 3 different conditions can be defined for one cell. NOTE: If more than one specified condition is true, Microsoft Excel applies only the formats of the first true condition, even if more than one condition is true. 15. How does the currency format differ from the accounting format? 15 ANSWER. Currency formats are used for general monetary values. The placement of the dollar sign is alongside (next to) the numbers. Accounting format aligns dollar signs and decimal points in a column. The currency style button is on the Formatting toolbar. In the accounting format, all negative values are displayed in black (and not red) and any zero values are displayed as dashes. 16. Where is the $ located when a number is formatted in accounting format? 16 ANSWER. Left side of the column 17. Which Excel feature applies formatting attributes based upon the contents of the cell? 17 ANSWER. Conditional formatting 18. What is the name of the feature used to resize a column to its widest entry? 18 ANSWER. AutoFit or AutoFit Selection. AutoFit Selection adjusts the width of all the columns in the selection to accommodate the widest text. 19. What is the object in a chart called that identifies the patterns used for each data series? 19 ANSWER. The object in the chart is the CHART LEGEND which identifys the patterns connected to Chart Data series names. Each series has a different pattern, and the legend identifies which is which. 20. What chart type compares data over time and is the Excel default chart type? 20 ANSWER. Column Chart is the Excel default chart type and it compares data over time. 21. What chart type shows trends over even time intervals? 21 ANSWER. A line chart is the type of chart that shows trends over even time intervals. 22. What is the term for a row or column of data on a chart? 22 ANSWER. a Data Series 23. What do we call the page orientation with dimensions 11" wide by 81/2" tall? 23 ANSWER. Landscape: essentially it is a normal piece of paper turned on its side. It is a better page orientation to use with spreadsheets due to the fact that many are wider than they are tall. This allows for all the cells and their information, (formulas), to fit on one page instead of being split onto two. 24. In a 2-dimensional chart what is another name for the Value axis? 24 ANSWER. the Y-axis 25. In a 2-dimensional chart what is another name for the Category axis? 25 ANSWER. the X-axis 26. What the math and logical operators in Excel? 26 ANSWER. Operators specify the different types of calculations you can perform on the elements of a formula. There are four different types of operators: arithmetic (math), comparison (logical), text, and reference. The arithmetic or math operators are: + (plus sign) addition, – (minus sign) subtraction, Negation (–1), * (asterisk) multiplication, / (forward slash) Division, % (percent sign) percent, and ^ (caret) exponentiation. The logical or comparison operators are = (equal sign) Equal to, > (greater than sign) Greater than, < (less than sign) Less than, >= (greater than or equal to sign) Greater than or equal to, <= (less than or equal to sign) Less than or equal to, <> (not equal to sign) Not equal to (A1<>B1) 27. How does the COUNT function differ from the COUNTA function? 27 ANSWER. COUNT counts the number of cells that contain numbers. COUNTA counts the number of cells that are not empty. 28. What are the arguments for the IF function? 28 ANSWER. IF(logical_test,value_if_true,value_if_false) 29. What is a conditional formula? 29 ANSWER. A conditional formula returns one value if a condition you specify evaluates to TRUE and another value if it evaluates to FALSE. IF function indicates a conditional formula. 30a. What is an example of a logical test in a conditional formula? 30a ANSWER. =IF(A2<=100,"Within budget","Over budget") --> If the number in A2 is less than or equal to 100, then the formula displays "Within budget". Otherwise, the function displays "Over budget". 30b. Can dates be used in calculations? 30b ANSWER. YES. One can subtract to calculate the number of days between two dates. 31. What function places the current date in a cell? 31 ANSWER. NOW function returns the current date and time according to the setting of your computer's system date and time. TODAY function returns the current system date. TODAY function will refresh the date whenever the worksheet recalculates. 32. What is the purpose of the AutoSum button on the Standard Toolbar? 32 ANSWER. The AutoSum button is a quick, easy, one tap way for you to sum numbers in a column or row. 33. What buttons are found on the Standard Toolbar? 33 ANSWER. Buttons found on the standard toolbar include: New, where you can bring up a new Excel sheet; Open, where you can open other files on the computer; Save, to save the spreadsheet; Print; Spell Check; Copy, make a duplicate; Paste, Putting the duplicate in a cell; Undo, to go back from your previous move; Insert Hyperlink, puts a website on the spreadsheet; AutoSum, adds a specific row or columns with a formula; Sort Ascending, puts a list in alphabetical order; Chart Wizard, helps make a bar, pie, line chart; Microsoft Excel Help, provides assistance with any questions. In summary, the buttons found on the standard toolbar are: New, Open, Save, Print, Spell Check, Copy, Paste, Undo, Insert Hyperlink, AutoSum, Sort Ascending, Chart Wizard, and Microsoft Excel Help. 34. What is a page header and footer? 34 ANSWER. On the Page Setup, add preset headers and footers to a page by clicking the drop-down menus under the Header/Footer tab. Custom Headers and Footers have text, date and page information specified by the Excel user. 35. Which menu bar lets a user change the header and footer? 35 ANSWER. On the Main Menu choose File and then Page Setup. 36. What is a 3-D reference? 36 ANSWER. If you want to analyze data in the same cell or range of cells on multiple worksheets within the workbook, use a 3-D reference. A 3-D reference includes the cell or range reference, preceded by a range of worksheet names. For example, =SUM(Sheet2:Sheet13!B5) adds all the values contained in cell B5 on all the worksheets between and including Sheet 2 and Sheet 13.