Workbook
This is Excel's name for a file. The workbook can have multiple sheets with different information on each sheet. This permits you to keep related data in one file rather than break it up into several different files.
Types of Data
In a spreadsheet there are three basic types of data that can be entered.
- labels - (text with no numerical value)
- constants - (just a number -- constant value)
- formulas* - (a mathematical equation used to calculate)
data typesexamplesdescriptions
LABELName or Wage or Daysanything that is just text
CONSTANT5 or 3.75 or -7.4any number
FORMULA=5+3 or = 8*5+3math equation
*ALL formulas MUST begin with an equal sign (=).
Labels /text/ are text entries. They do not have a value associated with them. We typically use labels to identify what we are talking about.
In this example the labels are:
- computer ledger
- car loan
- interest
- # of payments
- Monthly Pmt.
Again, we use labels to help identify what we are talking about. The labels are NOT for the computer but rather for US so we can clarify what we are doing.
Constants in Excel
As you can see from these examples there may be different types of numbers. Sometimes constants are referring to dollars, sometimes referring to percentages, and other times referring to a number of items (in this case 60 months).These are typed into the computer with just the numbers and are changed to display their type by formatting them.
Constant Values
Data that you type directly into a cell is called a constant value by Excel. These can include text, whole numbers, decimal numbers, dates, times, currency, percentages, and scientific notation.
In this same example the constants are:
- $12,000
- 9.6%
- 60
- 252.61
Formulas
A formula is a sequence of values, cell references, names, functions, or operators that produces a new value from existing values. A formula will display on the screen as a number but the formula bar will show what is really stored in that cell. As numbers affecting the formula change, the formula value will change.
