Microsoft Excel course

Excel Lesson 3

Formulas, AutoSum, and Basic Calculations

First-time setup and success checks

Lesson goal in plain language: Create a small expense worksheet and calculate totals and averages with formulas.

Prepare before step 1

  1. Open the correct application, website, or device screen and wait for its name to be announced.
  2. Open Excel manual and review the matching procedure if any command or term is unfamiliar.
  3. Use only fictional, public, disposable, or instructor-provided practice information. Make a copy before changing an important file.
  4. Read all numbered instructions once before performing them so you know the intended final result.

Commands used or referenced

Enter, Alt+Equals,, F2, Escape, Insert+Spacebar,, Alt+Q

For a plus-sign command, hold the modifier key, press and release the final key, then release the modifier. For a sequence, press and release each key in order. Stop after every command and listen for the result.

Work and verify

  1. Perform one numbered instruction and stop. Identify the active window, focused control, selected item, cell, slide, message, field, or device area before continuing.
  2. Compare the result with the lesson goal. A sound alone is not enough; verify the name, state, value, location, permission, or content.
  3. If the result is wrong, press Escape once to leave an unexpected menu, identify focus again, and use Undo only when the change is safely reversible.
  4. Save or synchronize at natural stopping points. Use the required filename Excel-Lesson-3.xlsx.
  5. Complete the “Before submitting” checklist from top to bottom. Correct missing items before marking the lesson complete.
  6. Close and reopen the practice item, or return to it from the product’s main screen, to prove you can locate and verify the result independently.

Success standard: Explain what each major command did, show the finished result, and recover from one harmless focus or navigation error without another person naming the next key.

Goal

Create a small expense worksheet and calculate totals and averages with formulas.

Skills practiced

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Create a blank workbook.
  2. In A1 through C1, enter Item, Quantity, and Unit Cost.
  3. Enter five fictional office supply items in rows 2 through 6 with quantities and unit costs.
  4. In D1, enter Line Total.
  5. In D2, type =B2*C2 and press Enter.
  6. Copy D2 and paste it into D3 through D6. Excel adjusts the row references.
  7. In C8, enter Grand Total. In D8, press Alt+Equals, confirm the range D2:D6, and press Enter.
  8. In C9, enter Average Cost. In D9, type =AVERAGE(D2:D6) and press Enter.
  9. In C10, enter Lowest Cost. In D10, type =MIN(D2:D6).
  10. In C11, enter Highest Cost. In D11, type =MAX(D2:D6).
  11. Use F2 on each result cell to review the formula, then press Escape without changing it.
  12. Save the workbook as Excel-Lesson-3.xlsx.

JAWS help: Press Insert+Spacebar, then J, to search JAWS commands when you forget a keystroke. Ribbon KeyTips can differ slightly by Microsoft 365 update, so Alt+Q search is included where useful.

Your assignment

Create an office-supply expense worksheet with at least five items, line totals, a grand total, an average, a minimum, and a maximum.

Save the finished assignment as Excel-Lesson-3.xlsx.

Before submitting