Section: Vocabulary

Vocabulary / Main Concepts

Spreadsheet

a class of application software that focuses on defining numerical relationships and encourages "what if" analysis.

"What if" analysis

The process of playing with numbers to see how they interact in a spreadsheet.

cell

The basic unit of memory in a spreadsheet. One cell will contain text, a number, or a formula.

cell address

Usually the intersection of a cell's row and column.

row

The horizontal units in a spreadsheet. Think "Row ACROSS a river." Rows go across.

column

The vertical units in a spreadsheet. Think of the Greek columns. They would look pretty silly going sideways. Columns go up and down.

edit box

The part of the spreadsheet that allows you to edit the value of a cell. Usually near the top of the spreadsheet.

text

Characters or numbers that are interpreted in ASCII or some similar format. The spreadsheet cannot do math on characters.

numbers

Values which can be calculated. Sometimes numbers look like text, but they are really numbers. (See cell formatting)

formulas

A formula is a mathematical expression that refers to cells in other parts of the spreadsheet.

range

A group of cells usually denoted by two corner cells seperated by a colon. (A6:F8) describes a rectangle with one corner at A6 and another corner at F8.

cell formatting

A special kind of formatting that describes how data will be represented. Changes the appearance of the cell, but not its value.

formula character

A special character (usually the = or + sign) that informs the spreadsheet that the contents of the cell will be a formula.

order of operations

A convention in mathematics describing the order that certain mathematical operations will occur. If in doubt, use plenty of parentheses to make your formula completely clear. Standard order of operations: (),^,*/,+-.

relative addressing

The standard form of reference to a cell. When you use a relative reference and copy the formula, the new formula preserves the relationship between itself and any referred cells.

absolute addressing

Referring to a cell with one or more dollar signs in the cell address. When copied, the locked parts of the address stay the same.

replication

A term sometimes used to refer to the special copy and paste behavior of spreadsheets.

named ranges

ranges of one or more cells that have been given a name for ease of handling. A named range is usually much easier to work with and understand than the built-in cell addresses.