Excel Exercises

To accompany Contemporary Mathematics for Business and Consumers, Third Edition

Robert A. Brechner

George W. Bergeman / Robert A. Brechner / Maria S. Castro

The Excel exercises accompanying Contemporary Mathematics have four general objectives:
1. To enhance understanding of the concepts presented in the text.
2. To apply the topics in the text in a realistic and meaningful manner.
3. To learn how Excel (and spreadsheets in general) can be used to perform calculations and
display results in mathematical and financial contexts.
4. To enhance students' problem analysis skills by requiring careful consideration of the inputs
and outputs involved in a variety of different situations.

We have followed a model for spreadsheet construction in which the inputs and outputs are
displayed on the sheet and the formulas do their work "behind the scenes." This is a useful
model for spreadsheet applications because it efficiently displays the pertinent data and results.

Since most of these exercises call for entry of formulas, this approach also enables students to
acquire skills they will need outside an educational setting. That is, it specifically requires that
they determine the correct formula to apply and then enter it in a form that Excel can utilize.

Of course, the behind-the-scenes formulas that are present in some exercises may be examined by
simply clicking on the appropriate cell and inspecting the formula in the edit box at the top of the
Excel window. To see all the formulas at one time, select Tools  Options, click the View tab
and then check the Formulas box.

Instructions for Students

To launch Excel and open the exercises that accompany a particular chapter, double-click on the
desired chapter file. After opening this file, use the tabs at the bottom of the worksheet to select
the desired exercises. These tabs show the level and exercise number from the text for each
exercise.

Click the tab of the exercise you wish to work. You may need to use the small pointer-triangles at
the bottom left corner of your window in order to display tabs that may be hidden.

Each chapter includes Excel exercises presented at three levels. The instructions for working the
exercises at each of these levels are as follows:

Level 1 - Complete the spreadsheet by entering data values in all yellow cells.

In Level 1 exercises, you are asked to enter the appropriate data. All formulas and
labels are provided. Answers will appear in green cells.

Note: Since the formulas to perform the calculations are always present, you may see
some strange results displayed in the green cells before you enter the data.
Level 2 - Complete the spreadsheet by entering data in all yellow cells and formulas for
calculations in all blue cells.

In Level 2 exercises, you are asked to determine which formulas are needed and to
enter them as well as the data. The appropriate labels and cell formatting are provided.

Level 3 - Create all aspects of the spreadsheet. Be sure that you format all the numbers in
the cells appropriately (for example, dollars and cents and percents).

You will find that the Level 1 and Level 2 exercises provide general models that will be
helpful when you are asked to create the entire spreadsheet.

Additional notes:

In most cases, all the required data is given in the exercise statement as presented in red on your
Excel spreadsheet. However, a few exercises may require that you refer to your text for table
values and/or other input data.

Some problems have notes suggesting use of specific Excel functions (such as the Round
function) in order to assure that values used in subsequent calculations match the value
represented on the screen. For example, even though Excel may display a formatted result in
dollars and cents, the value behind the cell can have many more decimal places. If this value is
then multiplied by other values in subsequent calculations, the final answer may deviate slightly
from the desired result.

System requirements: Windows 95/98/2000/ME/XP/NT or later; Macintosh OS 8.1 or later and

Excel 97 or later

Windows 95/98/NT and Excel are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc.
Copyright © 2003 Thomson/South-Western.