Google Sheets basics

Spreadsheets organise numbers and lists. Let's learn Google Sheets. A spreadsheet is a grid of boxes, called cells, arranged in rows and columns. It's perfect for lists, budgets, marks, stock in a shop, and anything with numbers. Google Sheets is free. Columns go down the page and are named with letters, A, B, C. Rows go across and are numbered, 1, 2, 3. Every cell has an address, made of its column and its row. The cell in green is B two. To add something, click or tap a cell and type. Press Enter to move down to the next cell.

New word: Formula

The real power of spreadsheets is formulas. A formula is a calculation, and it always starts with an equals sign. Equals B two plus B three adds two cells. And equals SUM, B two to B four, adds a whole range of cells. Here, cell B five has the formula equals SUM, B two to B four. It adds the three scores and shows fifty three. If you change a score, the total updates by itself. Equals AVERAGE works out the average. Here, the average score is seventeen point seven.

Useful formulas

SUM adds numbers up. AVERAGE finds the average. MAX finds the biggest number. And MIN finds the smallest.

Quick check

Quick check. What does every formula start with? An equals sign. Without it, Sheets thinks you're just typing words. Options: An equals sign (=); A dollar sign; The word FORMULA; A capital letter.

Recap

Columns are letters, and rows are numbers. Each cell has an address, like B two. Formulas start with an equals sign. And SUM, AVERAGE, MAX and MIN are great formulas to start with.

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