Excel Project

            Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application with a grid of cells (numbered rows and lettered columns) that is used to organize, manipulate, and graph data. This Excel project used data from 500 subjects to analyze the effectiveness of a particular workout. The 500 subjects had a starting heart rate taken, a heart rate taken each minute throughout a 15 minute workout, and a heart rate taken each minute during a 5 minute cooldown. The spreadsheet provided raw data, including the age, sex, and 21 hear rate measurements. This project was about manipulating and formatting data given. I added new columns, used new formulas, formatted the worksheet to print according to specifications, and created pivot tables within new worksheets.

            Before beginning this project, I knew some basic Excel functions like how to add new rows and columns, how to adjust column width, and how to create a simple formula starting with an equal sign. Until doing this project, however, I was unaware of just how much Excel has to offer. The Freeze Panes capability is very useful, and with all the projects I have done in the past using Excel, I cannot believe I never used this function. If there is a lot of data with row titles in the first one or two rows, the Freeze Panes capability can be used to make sure these rows are always displayed. I also had no idea how many formulas Excel can use, and I found it very useful to use the AVERAGE, MIN, and MAX functions. In this project, we also used the IF function, which I found very difficult to understand at first, but once I learned how to apply this function, I realized it is simply plugging in =IF(logical test, “what to put if the test is satisfied,” “what to put if the test is not satisfied”).

            The most difficult part of the project for me was the pivot tables in Step 2. I had never used a pivot table before and had no idea what it was used for or how to create one. After watching the Excel videos, I was able to create my pivot tables and drag over what I was using for columns and rows. Now, I can create a pivot table and format it in any way necessary. For example, now I understand how to change the pivot table so it displays count or sum, one decimal place versus two decimal places, and grand totals for columns or rows or no grand totals for columns or rows.  Here I have included a screen capture of the AvgIncrease pivot table I created for the project.