4. Spreadsheet Software

A spreadsheet is a piece of software which is used to carry out calculations and modelling scenarios.

What tasks would you do with a spreadsheet?

• Anything that requires calculations such as working out how much something will cost, working out discounts etc. If you have to write a formula then you should use a spreadsheet.
• Modelling e.g. if I put this price up by 10% what will happen to my profit?
• Creating graphs and charts
• Sorting data - alphabetically and numerically. Although this can be done with a database application, if the task has already guided you towards using a spreadsheet then you would do your sorting of data in the spreadsheet.
• Searching for data. Although this can be done with a database application, if the task has already guided you towards using a spreadsheet then you would do your searching for data in the spreadsheet.