Spreadsheets

A spreadsheet is a program that uses rows and columns to organize data. It is great for working with numbers and making charts. Teachers use spreadsheets to keep track of grades. Many people use them for budgets, lists, and planning.

What Spreadsheets Do

Spreadsheets can add, subtract, and do other math automatically. Each box is called a cell. You can type numbers or words into cells. Formulas tell the spreadsheet to calculate things for you. If you change one number, the spreadsheet updates everything.

Charts and Graphs

Spreadsheets can turn numbers into colorful charts. Bar charts, pie charts, and line graphs are all possible. Charts make it easier to understand data. For example, you could make a chart showing your class's favorite colors. Seeing the data as a picture makes it clearer.

Fun Facts

• The first spreadsheet program was called VisiCalc and came out in 1979.
• Google Sheets lets many people work on the same spreadsheet at the same time.
• Some spreadsheet experts have made video games inside a spreadsheet program.

Did You Know?

Microsoft Excel, one of the most popular spreadsheet programs, can handle over one million rows of data in a single file!