What a spreadsheet is, and its terms
A spreadsheet is a grid of cells in columns and rows that holds mostly numbers, then calculates with them. Change one number and every total that uses it recalculates by itself. That is why Paper 1 picks the spreadsheet for jobs with repetitive numerical calculations.
By the end of this page you can
- Explain what a spreadsheet is for
- Tell labels, values, formulas and functions apart
- Name the parts of a workbook, from workbook to range
- Answer spreadsheet term questions
Goals tick themselves off as you try the activities below.
Photo: MikeRun, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped, program icons and window title blurred, resized, JPEG q72.
Rows, columns, cells and a graph: the numbers update the moment one value changes.
How often it shows up in past papers
All papers13 of 14 papers
Last 55 of 5 · 2019–2025
Paper 1 counts come from our past-paper bank of CSEC Information Technology Paper 1s. The last-5 row shows how often it came up in the five most recent papers.
Inside this topic
- Why a spreadsheetLocked
- Parts of the gridLocked
- Key termsLocked
- Test yourselfmarkedLocked