I85PREP
⌘ K
NIELIT CCC study materials
NIELIT CCC study resources

NIELIT CCC: Spreadsheet

NIELIT CCC · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Spreadsheet

Spreadsheet tests cell-based calculation: entering data, using formulas and functions, filling, sorting, filtering, charting and printing. CCC questions often give a small table and ask for the displayed result of a formula, so practise reading references precisely.

Core rules

  • A cell address is column + row, e.g. B7. A range is A1:A10; A1:A10,C1:C10 is a multi-range.
  • Every formula begins with =; text begins with a letter or an apostrophe; numbers are right-aligned by default.
  • Relative references change when copied (A1); absolute references stay fixed ($A$1); mixed references fix row or column ($A1, A$1).
  • Common functions: SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT (numbers), COUNTA (non-empty), MAX, MIN, IF.
  • Sorting rearranges rows; filtering hides rows that do not match without deleting them.

Worked example

In A1:A5 you have 10, 20, 30, 40, 50. =SUM(A1:A5) returns 150. If you insert a new row at row 3 and enter 5, the range often expands to include it, and the total becomes 155. If you copy =SUM($A$1:A5) down, the first reference stays $A$1 while the second changes. This is why absolute references matter in tax or rate columns.

Traps

=SUM(A1:A5) is not the same as =A1+A2+A3+A4+A5 if rows are inserted. A number stored as text will not be counted by COUNT or added by SUM; remove the apostrophe or use conversion. #### in a cell usually means the column is too narrow, not that the formula is wrong. A chart linked to data updates when data changes; a copied picture does not.