If you have large data sets the equations for finding averages can get cumbersome to do by hand or even with a calculator. Microsoft Excel can help us complete these calculations more quickly. Excel is available to you as a SLCC student as part of Office 365. You may want to open it now and follow along with the given data set or you are welcome to use experimental data. The table below shows basics calculations you can perform in Excel. They are functions you will need during your internship in STUDENTfacturED®. The next several learning activities will show you how to use them for data calculations.
Calculator key |
Excel method |
Description, example |
Result |
---|---|---|---|
+ (Plus key) |
+ (plus) |
Use in a formula to add numbers. Example: =4+6+2 |
12 |
- (Minus key) |
- (minus) |
Use in a formula to subtract numbers or to signify a negative number. Example: =18-12 Example: =24*-5 (24 times negative 5) |
6 -120 |
x (Multiply key) |
* (asterisk; also called "star") |
Use in a formula to multiply numbers. Example: =8*3 |
24 |
÷ (Divide key) |
/ (forward slash) |
Use in a formula to divide one number by another. Example: =45/5 |
9 |
√ (square root) |
SQRT (function) |
Use the SQRT function in a formula to find the square root of a number. Example: =SQRT(64) |
8 |
1/x (reciprocal) |
=1/n |
Use =1/n in a formula, where n is the number you want to divide 1 by. Example: =1/8 |
0.125 |