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2. Enter your answer. The computer will check your answer against the correct answer. 3. Check the solution. If you do not get the same answer as the computer, check your work step by step against the correct solution displayed on the computer screen. Doing so will help you to pinpoint your mistakes. Practice each type of problem until you have genuinely mastered it. When you take the course exams, you wont be able to fake your knowledge level. So dont stop until youre sure that you have mastered the concepts. The Tutor uses random-number generation to choose the specific numbers, so it is unlikely that you will ever see a combination of numbers twice. This gives you an effectively unlimited number of practice problems. The only limit is your willingness to practice.
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FIGURE D1 Excel PMF Tutor Startup Screen Showing the Main Menu
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There are five buttons at the top of the window for each tutorial: SolutionClick this to see the problem solution. New ProblemClick this to see new problem data. PrevClick this to move to the previous tutorial problem. MainClick this to return to the PMF Tutor main menu. NextClick this to move to the next tutorial problem.
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1. Review the learning objective. Each tutorial has a learning objective situated just below the problem. Learning objectives provide a brief description of what each problem is testing you on and note the associated section in the textbook where the material is covered. 2. Review the problem data and calculate your answer. 3. Enter your answer in the yellow cell. Note: If the problem calls for a percentage, be sure to enter the percentage in decimal form (for example, 20% as .2) or to enter the number followed by the percent sign (that is, type 20% and then press Enter). 4. Check your solution. 5. If you need more practice, click the New Problem button and begin with Step 1.
FIGURE D3 Excel PMF ProblemSolver Start-up Screen Showing the Main Menu
Using a PMF Problem-Solver worksheet is simple. You enter your inputs in the yellow cells. You can move between these cells by using your mouse or by
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pressing the Tab on your keyboard. If any of your inputs involve percentages (such as an interest rate of 10.5%), either enter the percentage in decimal form (that is, enter .105 for 10.5%) or enter the percentage following the format number followed by the percent sign (that is, type 10.5% and then press Enter). Figure D4 shows a sample Problem-Solver problem. The PMF Problem-Solver has a toolbar that also facilitates navigation and tasks. The 12 buttons of the toolbar are explained below.
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The data entry cells are clearly highlighted in yellow. When you enter your data, the worksheet automatically calculates the new answer.
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