Microsoft Excel Proficiency Levels

Please have your instructor or TA initial each Level as you complete it. If you need
additional help, ask the TAs or use the help guide in Excel.
Once you master Excel Levels I through IV, you can note Excel as a skill on your
resume!
Please see D2L Content for this week for your Excel Homework assignment
(individual), which is due via D2L Dropbox by the due date as specified in D2L
News for your section.
If you use a Mac, please be sure to submit your homework in a format that the
grader and instructor can open on a PC.

Level I: Basic Functions

1.

Calculating an Average: Use the AVERAGE( ) function in Excel to calculate the

arithmetic average of the 5 values listed below.
3.6; 3.8; 3.5; 3.7; 3.6
First, calculate the average the long way, by summing the values and dividing by 5:

5
Second, calculate the average using Excels AVERAGE ( ) function by entering the
following formula in a cell:
=AVERAGE(cellrange)
Replace the cellrange with the actual addresses in your spreadsheet of the range of
cells holding the five values (e.g., the cell range is B4:B8).
2.

Determining Velocities (in kph): Some friends at the University of Calgary are
coming south for spring break. Help them avoid a speeding ticket by completing a
velocity conversion worksheet that calculates the conversion from mph to kph in
increments of 10 from 10 to 100. A conversion factor you might need is 0.62
mile/km; you will need this factor to convert from miles/hour to km/hour.

[1]

Level II: Advanced Functions

1. Projectile Motion I: (See following page for Fig. 1 Excel chart) A projectile is
launched at the angle 35o from the horizontal with velocity equal to 30 m/s.
Neglecting air resistance and assuming a horizontal surface, determine how far away
from the launch site the projectile will land.
To answer this problem you will need:
1. Excels trigonometry functions to handle the 35o angle, and
2. Equations relating distance to velocity and acceleration
When velocity in constant, as in the horizontal motion of our particle (since were
neglecting air resistance), the distance traveled is simply the initial horizontal
velocity times the time of flight:
(Equation 1)

What keeps the projectile from flying forever is gravity. Since the gravitational
acceleration is constant, the vertical distance traveled becomes
(Equation 2)

Because the projectile ends up back on the ground, the final value of y is zero (a
horizontal surface was specified), so Equation 2 can be used to determine the time of
flight, t:

t = 2(voy)/g, where g = 9.8 m/s2

(Equation 3)

The initial velocity components in the horizontal and vertical directions with Excels
trigonometry functions as shown in Figure 1 (following page).
In figure 1, Cells C6 and C7 must contain the following formulas:
C6:C4*SIN(RADIANS(C3))
C7:C4*COS(RADIANS(C3))
The RADIANS( ) function has been used to convert 35o to radians for compatibility
with Excels trigonometric functions.
Once your spreadsheet has calculated Voy and Vox, you can use equation 3 to solve
for the time of flight in Figure 1. The time of flight can then be used in Equation 1 to
find the horizontal distance traveled.

[2]

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

A
PROJECTILE MOTION 1

Angle:
V0 :

35
30

degrees
m/s

V0y:
V0x:

*
*

m/s
m/s

y:
g:
t:

0
9.8
*

m
m/s2
s

x:

TIME OF FIGHT

HORIZONTAL TRAVEL DISTANCE

* = insert appropriate formula

(Figure 1)

Checking your answers:

Given the information above, your spreadsheet should calculate that for Vo = 30 m/s and
the launch angle = 35 degrees, Voy = 17.21 m/s and Vox = 24.57 m/s. In addition, your
spreadsheet should calculate that t = 3.51 s and x = 86.30 m.
If your spreadsheet is not giving you these results, your formulas are likely incorrect, so
keep working.

2. Projectile Motion II: How do the flight time and horizontal distance traveled
change if the launch angle is decreased to 30 degrees (launch speed is unchanged)?

[3]

Level III: Using Excel for Statistics

1.

Statistics: Sixty transducers are tested to see how long they work without failure in
a given environment. Rather than typing in the data, use Excels random number
generator to generate 60 data points between 0 and 3 (one idea is to type
=RAND()*(3-0)).
Use Excels statistical functions: MEAN, MEDIAN, MAX, MIN, STDEV, QUARTILE to
calculate statistics for your data (calculate 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quartiles; check to see if
your calculated 2nd Quartile = median).

2.

Statistics: For the data you generated in (1) above, use Excels Descriptive
Statistics* capability to generate summary statistics and a histogram:
Descriptive Statistics: Data Tab/Data Analysis => Descriptive Statistics =>
Summary Statistics
Histogram: Data Tab/Data Analysis => Descriptive Statistics => Histogram =>
Select data and check Chart Output box

* If Descriptive Statistics is not visible in your Data tab, you will need to activate it:
File => Options = > Add-ins => (at bottom) Click go box => check Analysis ToolPak
box => Click OK

[4]

Level IV: Using Excel for Graphing and Charts

1. Graphing: Use the Temperature and Time data below. Enter the data, then:

A
B
C
Temperature vs. Time
1 Data
2
3 Time (Sec)
Temp (C)
4
0
54.23
5
1
45.75
6
2
28.41
7
3
28.3
8
4
26.45
9
5
17.36
10
6
17.64
11
7
9.51
12
8
5.76
13
9
8.55
14
10
6.58
15
11
4.62
16
12
2.73
17
13
2.91
18
14
0.32
19
15
1.68
(A) Create a scatter plot of the data (Insert/Charts/Scatter). Label the axes and give
your graph a title (click on chart; Chart Tools/Design/Chart Layouts/Quick Layout).
(B) Add a trendline and display R2 (a measure of the goodness of fit) (Chart
Tools/Layout/Analysis/Trendline). To add a trendline, you can also right click on the
data points and go to Add trendline. See if you can choose a type of trendline that
gives you an R2 very close to 1.0.

[5]

2. Advanced Graphing: The surface plot in Figure 2 shows the value of F(x,y) = sin(x) *
cos(y) for -1 x 2 and -1 y 2.

F(X,Y)=sin(X)cos(Y)
0.501.00

0.50
0.6

1.00

1.8

1.4

0.6

0.2

0.50

0.2

0.00
1
0.6

F(X,Y)

1.00
0.000.50

0.500.00
1.000.50

(Figure 2)

To create the surface plot, X values ranging from -1 to 2 were entered in column A with
increments of .2, and Y values ranging from -1 to 2 were entered in row 2, also with
increments of .2. The first two values were entered by hand, and then Excels Fill Handle
was used to complete the rest of each series. See Figure 3 for illustration of the first part
of the chart.
y>>
x
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.2
0.4

1
0.45
0.39
0.31
0.21
0.11
0.00
0.11
0.21

0.8
0.59
0.50
0.39
0.27
0.14
0.00
0.14
0.27

0.6
0.69
0.59
0.47
0.32
0.16
0.00
0.16
0.32

0.4
0.78
0.66
0.52
0.36
0.18
0.00
0.18
0.36

0.2
0.82
0.70
0.55
0.38
0.19
0.00
0.19
0.38

0
0.84
0.72
0.56
0.39
0.20
0.00
0.20
0.39

0.2
0.82
0.70
0.55
0.38
0.19
0.00
0.19
0.38

0.4
0.78
0.66
0.52
0.36
0.18
0.00
0.18
0.36

0.6
0.69
0.59
0.47
0.32
0.16
0.00
0.16
0.32

0.8
0.59
0.50
0.39
0.27
0.14
0.00
0.14
0.27

1
0.45
0.39
0.31
0.21
0.11
0.00
0.11
0.21

(Figure 3)

(A) Create the table for F(X,Y) = sin (X) cos (Y) for the ranges -1 X 2 and -1
Y 2. Remember to use the $ sign where appropriate in your formulas for absolute
cell addressing.
(B) Graph the resulting surface area data (Insert/Charts/Other Charts => Surface
=> Wire frame icon).
(C) Label the axes appropriately and title your graph.
***************************************************************
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