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UNIT-4 ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEET
2 APPLYING FORMULA AND
FUNCTIONS IN SPREADSHEET
Spreadsheets are powerful tools for organising, analysing, and interpreting data, and their true potential
lies in the ability to apply formulas and functions. Formulas are user-defined expressions that perform
calculations using specific cell references and operators, while functions are pre-defined operations provided
by the software to carry out complex computations efficiently. By combining formulas and functions, users
can automate tasks such as summing numbers, finding averages, comparing data, and solving mathematical
problems.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF DATA
To begin working with a Calc, the user has to feed data. Data can be classified into numeric, text, date/time
and formula.
Text Data (Label)
Text data are the data which are textual in nature. It refers to the data which is a combination of alphabets,
spaces, digits and/or other characters. If number are to be inserted as text, they are mentioned within double
quotes “ ”. By default, text data are aligned towards the left side of the cell and are generally not meant for
calculation.
Numeric Data (Values)
Numeric data consist of digits (0–9), Exponential (e), decimal (.) and numeric operators like +, -, /, *, %, $.
Numeric data or values are aligned towards the right side in a cell. Numeric data are the operands on which
the formula is applied to perform arithmetic calculations. Operands refer to data on which the formula is
applied. For example, 5+8, 5 and 8 are operands and + is the operator.
Date and Time
In LibreOffice Calc displays date as sequential numbers known as Serial Values. The time is displayed as a
fractional part. Date and Time are values and therefore can be added or subtracted and can be included for
other calculations. By default they are aligned towards the right side of the cell.
Formula
A formula is an expression that helps to perform arithmetical calculation and also executes non-arithmetical
tasks. It consists of the operands and operators that operate on the data. Formula has to be expressed with
prefix ‘=’ before the operator/data.
Notes
The values do not display the preceding zero. If any value, preceded by 0, then the first letter
‘0’ is not displayed, when the data is value. To show the preceding ‘0’, the data type has to be
specified as ‘Text’.
Applying Formula and Functions in Spreadsheet 225

