Spreadsheet facts for kids
A spreadsheet is a special computer program that helps you organize, calculate, and store information in tables. Think of it like a digital version of a paper accounting sheet, but much smarter!
You enter your information into "cells" in a grid, like a big table. Each cell can hold numbers, text, or even special instructions called "formulas." These formulas can automatically do math for you, using the information from other cells.
Spreadsheets are great for "what-if" questions. You can change one number and instantly see how it affects all the other calculations. This makes them super useful for planning and analyzing data quickly. Modern spreadsheets can also show your data as cool charts and graphs.
Besides basic math, spreadsheets have built-in tools for financial calculations and statistics. They are used everywhere, not just for accounting, but for any task where you need to list, sort, and share data in an organized way.
Contents
How Spreadsheets Work
The first electronic spreadsheet, LANPAR, came out in 1969 for big computers. But VisiCalc in 1979 was the first one for personal computers like the Apple II computer. It helped make personal computers popular for businesses. Later, Lotus 1-2-3 became very popular, and now Microsoft Excel is the most widely used spreadsheet program.
Today, spreadsheet programs are a standard part of office software packages. You might also use online versions like Google Sheets, which lets many people work on the same spreadsheet at once from anywhere.
A spreadsheet is made of a grid of cells, arranged in rows and columns. Columns are usually labeled with letters (A, B, C, etc.), and rows with numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.). So, a single cell can be called "C10." A group of cells is called a range, like "A1:A10" for the first ten cells in column A.
In modern spreadsheet programs, you can have several spreadsheets, often called worksheets or sheets, grouped together in one file called a workbook. Worksheets usually appear as tabs you can click to switch between them. If you need to refer to a cell on another sheet, you might write "Sheet1!C10".
You mostly work with spreadsheets by typing into cells. A cell can hold simple data like text ("hello world"), a number (5), or a date. Or, it can hold a formula, which usually starts with an equals sign (`=`). For example, `=5*3` would show `15` in the cell, not the formula itself.
The most powerful thing about spreadsheets is that formulas can use values from other cells. For example, `=5*C10` would multiply the number in cell C10 by 5. If C10 has `3`, the result is `15`. But C10 could also have its own formula, and so on! This linking of formulas is what makes spreadsheets so powerful for solving problems step-by-step.
Spreadsheets are similar to databases because they organize data, but they are not the same. A spreadsheet is usually one big table, while a database can have many tables linked together in complex ways. However, you can easily move data between spreadsheets and databases.
History of Spreadsheets
Paper Spreadsheets
People have used tables to organize information for thousands of years. The Babylonians used clay tablets for data way back in 1800 BCE! Accounting books and astronomical records also used grids of rows and columns.
The term "spread sheet" was used in accounting since at least 1906. It referred to large paper sheets with many columns and rows, often spread across two pages, used for keeping financial records.
Electronic Spreadsheets
Early Computer Spreadsheets
The idea of an electronic spreadsheet was first described in 1961 by Richard Mattessich. Early versions like BCL (Business Computer Language) in 1962 ran on large mainframe computers. These early programs mostly added or subtracted whole columns or rows, not individual cells.
A big step forward was made by Rene Pardo and Remy Landau in 1969 with their software called LANPAR. It had a special feature called "natural order calculation." This meant the spreadsheet figured out the correct order to do calculations, even if you typed formulas in a different order. This made it much easier to use.
Other early spreadsheet-like programs included AutoPlan/AutoTab (1968) and IBM's Financial Planning and Control System (1976). These were more like scripting languages where you wrote instructions to create tables, rather than interactive grids.
VisiCalc and the Personal Computer Boom
The spreadsheet became widely known thanks to VisiCalc. It was created for the Apple II computer in 1979 by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston. VisiCalc was a game-changer because it was the first to combine many modern features:
- An interactive screen where you saw what you were doing (WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get).
- Automatic recalculation, so numbers updated instantly.
- Easy ways to copy formulas and refer to cells.
VisiCalc was so useful that people bought Apple II computers just to use it. It was the first "killer application" – a program so good it made people buy the hardware.
The Rise of Lotus 1-2-3 and Microsoft Excel
After VisiCalc, SuperCalc became popular for computers using the CP/M operating system.
Then came Lotus 1-2-3 in 1982. It was made specifically for the IBM Personal Computer and was much faster and had better graphics than VisiCalc. Lotus 1-2-3 was the top spreadsheet for many years.
Microsoft Excel was first released for the Macintosh in 1985, and then for Windows in 1987. As Windows became more popular, Excel quickly took over the market from Lotus 1-2-3. By 1995, Excel was the leader, and it still is today.
Online Spreadsheets
In 2006, Google launched Google Sheets, a web-based spreadsheet. This meant you could access and work on your spreadsheets from any device with an internet browser, and multiple people could work on the same file at the same time. Other online spreadsheets like Collabora Online Calc have also become available.
Key Features of Spreadsheets
Cells
A cell is like a small box where you put data. You refer to a cell by its column letter and row number, like "C2." You can change the size of cells to fit your content.
A group of cells is called a sheet or worksheet. Many worksheets can be in one spreadsheet file, making it easier to organize different parts of your project.
Cells can contain a value (like a number or text) or a formula. If it's a formula, it usually starts with an equals sign (`=`).
Values and Data Formats
You can type values directly into a cell. A value can also come from a formula that calculates something, shows the current date, or even gets information from the internet, like stock prices.
A key rule for spreadsheets is the "Value Rule": a cell's value only depends on the formula you put in it. If that formula uses other cells, those cells also follow the rule. This means calculating a formula only shows a result in that cell; it doesn't change other cells permanently unless you type something new into them.
Most spreadsheets can automatically recalculate values. This means if you change a number in one cell, all other cells that depend on it will update instantly. This is usually turned on by default because it's so helpful.
You can also "lock" cells to prevent accidentally changing important formulas or constant values. This is a good way to protect your work.
Cells can also have different data formats. For example, if you type "31/12/2007," the spreadsheet might automatically format it as a date. You can also choose formats like "currency" or "percentage" and decide how many decimal places to show. This changes how the value looks, but not the value itself.
You can also change how cells look (their formatting) by changing the font, color, borders, or background. This helps make your spreadsheet easier to read. You can even set up "conditional formatting" to make numbers turn red if they are negative, for example.
Using Formulas and Functions
A formula tells the spreadsheet what calculation to do in a cell. When a cell has a formula, you usually see the result of the calculation, but if you click on the cell, you can see the formula itself.
Formulas usually look like this: `=expression`. The expression can include:
- Numbers (like `2` or `9.14`)
- References to other cells (like `A1` or a range like `B1:B3`)
- Math symbols (`+`, `-`, `*`, `/`)
- Comparison symbols (`>=`, `<`)
- Built-in functions (like `SUM()` to add numbers, `TAN()` for math, and many others).
When a formula refers to other cells, it's like using a variable in math. If the value in the referenced cell changes, the formula's result updates. Cell references can be:
- Relative: `A1` (changes if you copy the formula to another cell)
- Absolute: `$A$1` (stays the same no matter where you copy the formula)
- Mixed: `$A1` or `A$1` (partially fixed)
Modern spreadsheets allow very complex formulas with many conditions. For example, you could have a formula that checks if a sum of percentages is over 100% and displays a warning message.
Spreadsheets also have many built-in functions for common tasks like adding numbers, finding averages, or doing complex math. You can even create your own custom functions using programming tools like Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) in Excel.
Charts and Graphs
Many spreadsheet programs let you create charts and graphs (like bar charts or pie charts) from your data. These visuals update automatically if the numbers in your cells change. You can put these charts right into your sheet or as a separate object.
Why Spreadsheets are Useful (and Tricky!)
Benefits for Organizing Data
Spreadsheets are a popular tool for people who aren't professional programmers to create automated tasks and organize data. Many find it easier to do calculations in a spreadsheet than to write a traditional computer program. Here's why:
- Visual Layout: Spreadsheets use a grid, which helps people understand how different pieces of information are connected. It's often easier to see relationships visually than by reading lines of code.
- Flexible: You can get parts of your spreadsheet to work even if other parts are still unfinished or have errors. This makes it faster to build and fix things.
- Visual Cues: You can use colors, fonts, and lines to highlight important information or show how different parts of your spreadsheet work.
- Versatile: Spreadsheets can be used for almost anything, from managing a budget to designing electronic circuits!
- Data Storage: They can store data like a database, and their formulas can even do complex data searches.
Things to Watch Out For
While spreadsheets are amazing, they also have some challenges:
- Errors: Studies show that about 1% of all formulas in spreadsheets have errors. These mistakes can lead to big problems, especially in finance or engineering. It's easy to make a mistake by typing something in the wrong cell or linking cells incorrectly.
- Hard to Check: It can be tough to check complex spreadsheets for errors, especially if formulas use many cell addresses instead of clear names. Using named cells (like "Sales" instead of "A1") can make formulas much easier to understand and check.
- Repetitive Formulas: Often, you have to copy almost identical formulas down many rows. If you need to change that formula, you have to change it in every single cell, which can be time-consuming and lead to more errors.
- Changing Structure: If you need to add or remove rows or columns, it can be a lot of work to adjust all the related formulas and charts.
- Collaboration: Working on the same spreadsheet with others can be tricky, especially if many people are changing cells and formulas.
- Size Limits: Older spreadsheet files (like Microsoft Excel files before 2007) had limits on how many rows and columns they could hold. This could lead to data loss if you had very large datasets.
- Tracking Changes: It can be hard to know who changed what and when in a spreadsheet, which can be a problem for important documents or for following rules.
- Security: Spreadsheets don't always have strong controls over who can see or change specific data, which could lead to security issues.
Despite these challenges, spreadsheets are incredibly powerful tools. By being careful and using features like named cells and built-in checks, you can make them very reliable and useful for many tasks.
Images for kids
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Example of a spreadsheet holding data about a group of audio tracks
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Use of named column variables x & y in Microsoft Excel. Formula for y=x2 resembles Fortran, and Name Manager shows the definitions of x & y.
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Use of user-defined function sq(x) in Microsoft Excel
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Subroutine in Microsoft Excel writes values calculated using x into y.
In Spanish: Hoja de cálculo para niños
