Northumbria University

School of Engineering & Technology

EN103 Design & Computing Skills

Spreadsheet as a Computational Tool (1)
1 Aims and Objectives
This lesson introduces the various topics that will be covered during the semester. At the end of this
lesson and with associated reading and practice you should be able to:

Perform basic operations in Excel.

Plot simple graphs (scatter graphs, histograms etc.).
Perform simple experimental data analysis.

2 Basic Excel Operations

Excel is such a common programme that just about everyone will have some skills or experience in
using the spreadsheet software. A significant part of EN103 focuses on some features of Excel that
allow the spreadsheet to be used as a computation tool. For this reason, certain knowledge on some
aspects of basic Excel operations is necessary. If you are not very comfortable with Excel, then it is
recommended that you spend some time on the following basic operations. Excel help manual
provides a comprehensive list of material and this feature should be exploited to your advantage.

Adding, renaming, moving and deleting worksheets.

Selecting a continuous or non-continuous range of cells (use of <CTRL> key).
Reveal formulae (use of <CTRL><` > key to toggle the formulae mode on/off.
Entering formulae (begins with “=”).
Use of absolute referencing.
Copying, cutting and pasting (paste, or paste special).
Use of chart wizard to plot graphs.
Graph options, and presentation of graphs.
Filling data to a given column.
Formatting cells.

3 Practice, Practice and Practice

Some exercises are shown in this section. These exercises are designed to help you gain confidence in
using the Excel spreadsheet, so that progressively you are able to handle complex problems and
gradually become an advanced user.

3.1 A Simple Inventory List

A simple inventory list is shown in Figure 1.

1. Start Excel, and begin the exercise with a blank workbook.

2. Copy the simple table (you do not have to copy the figures exactly, use any figures that
you feel are sensible).
3. Perform the simple calculation, this requires the use of formulae (the formulae are shown
in Figure 2, via the use of the <CTRL><`> key).
4. Format the cells to display £ signs, and underline certain cells, etc. to produce a
presentable worksheet.

EN103 Design & Computing Skills Spreadsheet (1) Page 1

Spreadsheet as a Computational Tool (1)
J K Tan September 02
 Northumbria University
School of Engineering & Technology

Figure 1 A Simple Inventory List

Figure 2: Formulae Involved in the Exercise for 3.1.

3.2 Exercise: An Experimental Data Computation

A range of solid round aluminium bars with similar lengths but different diameters is subjected to a
constant tensile force. The changes in lengths are recorded for each bar. The experimental data is then
compared to theoretical computation data on the basis of the simple formula:

FL
=
AE

where is the change in length (m)

F applied force (N)
A cross-sectional area of the bar
E modulus of elasticity of the material (Pa)

For a round bar, A= d2 where d is the diameter of the bar (m)

4
Length, L = 1.2 m
Force, F = 2000 N
E = 65 GPa (i.e. 70 x 109 Pa)

EN103 Design & Computing Skills Spreadsheet (1) Page 2

Spreadsheet as a Computational Tool (1)
J K Tan September 02
 Northumbria University
School of Engineering & Technology

You are required to produce a spreadsheet to compare the observed data (given) and compute the
theoretical data. Differences between the data set should also be computed.

• This simplified laboratory type of exercise is ideal for the student to practice various basic
spreadsheet operations.
• Set up the spreadsheet, see the suggested template shown below in Figure 3.
• It is a good idea to enter the values of the fixed parameters in some cells. If you need to
change these parameters (e.g. the length, diameter or material), you simply need to change the
values of these few cells, and the rest of the computed values are automatically taken care of.
• Make sure that cells that are supposed to contain numerical data do not contain textual data.
For example, the information “Length = 0.8 m” requires 3 cells, one for “Length = “, one for
0.8 and one for “m”. Again see the template in Figure 3.
• Get accustom to engineering units, Kx (x 103), Mx (x106), Gx (x109) etc.
• Excel has a number of useful functions, e.g. pi() is an Excel function for the constant .
• You will need to use absolute referencing, e.g. to reference cell A1 absolutely, you specify the
cell as $A$1. In all operations, Excel will always use the absolute cell $A$1 in all its
operations.

Figure 3: Template for Exercise 3.2

Figure 4: Formulae for Exercise 3.2

EN103 Design & Computing Skills Spreadsheet (1) Page 3

Spreadsheet as a Computational Tool (1)
J K Tan September 02
 Northumbria University
School of Engineering & Technology

3.3 Exercise: Another Experimental Data Computation

This exercise is a little bit more involved than the previous one listed in 3.1. A beam is loaded at mid-
span by a force F. The experiment aims to measure the mid-span deflections for a range of forces used
and these measured values are then compared to the calculated values.

x x h
L/2
L

b
Figure 5: Deflection of a Beam Loaded at Mid-Span

FL3
The deflection is given by: max =
48 EI
bd 3
Where I=
12
Do not be unduly distracted by the various formulae and complexity of the above problem, the relevant
topics will be covered in due course in units related to mechanics. Our concern here is to use Excel to
compute for the results.

Figure 6: Template for Exercise 3.3

See if you can do the exercise on your own. It may be a little difficult, but not impossible. Seek help if
really in doubt.

EN103 Design & Computing Skills Spreadsheet (1) Page 4

Spreadsheet as a Computational Tool (1)
J K Tan September 02
 Northumbria University
School of Engineering & Technology

Figure 7: Formulae for Exercise 3.3

As you can see later, Excel can also be used to plot graphs. A XY graph for the above exercise is
shown in Figure 8:

Figure 8:XY Graph for Exercise 3.3

4 Plotting Graphs with Excel

Displaying data or computed results in graphical forms is a common practice in virtually all fields of
study. A number of graphs (which are called charts in Excel’s terminology) can be plotted with
relative little effort with Excel. We will learn or revise some commonly used graphs:

• XY Line and/or scatter charts (most of the graphs that we are familiar with which involves the
use of both x and y co-ordinates are in fact classified as XY chart in Excel).
• Line charts (a time series chart or forecast chart) involving principally the values of one
variable captured at a constant interval of x or time value.
• Histogram.

EN103 Design & Computing Skills Spreadsheet (1) Page 5

Spreadsheet as a Computational Tool (1)
J K Tan September 02
 Northumbria University
School of Engineering & Technology

Again, a hands-on approach is taken for this section in which you will be guided through a series of
exercises.

4.1 Excel Chart: Some Features

This section covers briefly commonly used features to produce Excel charts, and it must be noted that it
is an exhaustive list on Excel graphing features. You should consult books, Excel user manuals or on-
line help in you need to know more about Excel graphing capabilities.

Chart Wizard: one of the simplest ways to plot graphs is through chart wizard. The
chart wizard can be activated from the menu Insert > Chart or by clicking the chard
wizard icon.
For XY chart, for every single graph you will need to have x and y data
points as input data range (i.e. two columns of data), and line chart, pie
chart histogram (and some others) you will need one column of data
point. It is a good idea to first select the ranges of data points before
activating the chart wizard. Suppose there are 20 data points given, and
we need to plot scatter XY graph for these data points, which is shown
in Figure 9. Select the range (B1:C20), and activate the chart wizard.
The chart wizard guides you through the various stages needed so that
enough information can be gathered for the requested chart to be
plotted. The first stage of the process involves the selection of required
chart type, this is shown in Figure 10.

Figure 9: Sample Data Points

Figure 10: Chart Wizard Step 1

Select the scatter points option as shown in Figure 10, you can preview the graph by
pressing the “Press and hold to view sample” button.
Step two of the wizard allows you to select the data range for plotting. Since we have
already selected the range (B1:C20) before activating the wizard, this range is now
accepted and the sample graph is shown. This is shown in Figure 11.
Notice that there are two tags: “Data Range” and “Series” in Figure 11. The “Data Range”
tag allows you to specify the data range, but the “Series” tag actually allows you to specify
more than one graph in a single plot. The “Data Series” tag in Figure 11 shows only one
series, i.e. only one graph for this plot. You can add new series and create a plot that
contains two or more graphs. You will do some of these exercises later on in Section 4.2.
Step three of the chart wizard allows you to enter the x, y axes titles, the chart titles, control
the appearances of grid lines, legend, etc. This is shown in Figure 12.
Step four, the last step of the wizard simply asks you if you would like to place the chart in
your current worksheet or create it in a new worksheet. This is shown in Figure 13.

EN103 Design & Computing Skills Spreadsheet (1) Page 6

Spreadsheet as a Computational Tool (1)
J K Tan September 02
 Northumbria University
School of Engineering & Technology

Figure 11: Step 2 of 4 Chart Wizard

Figure 12: Step 3 of 4 Chart Wizard

Figure 13: Step 4 of 4 Chart Wizard

Figure 14: The Resultant Plot

EN103 Design & Computing Skills Spreadsheet (1) Page 7

Spreadsheet as a Computational Tool (1)
J K Tan September 02
 Northumbria University
School of Engineering & Technology

4.2 Exercise: Plotting XY Scatter Graphs

XY scatter graphs can be used to show the relations between two variables, and to see the extent of
dispersion of data which involves two variables. A template is provided for you to practice the plotting
of XY scatter graphs, see Figure 15.

Figure 15: Template for Exercise 4.1

To save you some work, an Excel file containing the template data can be found in P drive under the
folder name of En103.

The solution for Scatter XY and Line chart is shown in Figure 16:

Figure 16: Solution to Exercise 4.1

EN103 Design & Computing Skills Spreadsheet (1) Page 8

Spreadsheet as a Computational Tool (1)
J K Tan September 02
 Northumbria University
School of Engineering & Technology

4.3 Exercise: Plotting a Line Chart

The template and the solution are shown in Figure 17. Note that various parameters of a given chart
can be changed so as to create the desired effect.

Figure 17: Data and Line Chart for Exercise 4.2

4.4 Exercise: Plotting a Histogram

Histogram can be plotted with Excel’s bar chart option. There is also an Excel Add-in called
“Analyses ToolPak” that allows one to sort out the frequency of a given data set on the basis of a
number of ranges. To load the add-in, click on the Tools > Add in and then select the Analyses
ToolPak tick box.

To use the ToolPak: click on Tools > Data analysis and select the Histogram option from the ToolPak
dialogue window. This is shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18: Data Analysis Dialogue Window

Again, the template data set in drive P can be used. The sample data set, together with the results are
shown in Figure 19:

EN103 Design & Computing Skills Spreadsheet (1) Page 9

Spreadsheet as a Computational Tool (1)
J K Tan September 02
 Northumbria University
School of Engineering & Technology

Figure 19: Sample Data Set and Histogram for Ex 4.3

• The Histogram tool will ask some essential inputs: range of inputs, bins (i.e. the way you
would like to define the individual range of the histogram, etc. For the exercise, these
required inputs are shown in Figure 20:

Figure 20: Histogram Inputs for Exercise 4.3

• The bins values for Excel works on the basis on <=. For example, the bin value of 70 would
contain frequency of data that is less than or equal to 70 but larger than the previous bin value
(i.e. 65).
4.5 Exercise: Plot Graphs for Exercise 3.2
In Exercise 3.2, you have listed observed and computed
data points of an experiment. Plot a graph showing the
observed data points and computed results.

Figure 21: Solution for Exercise 4.5

EN103 Design & Computing Skills Spreadsheet (1) Page 10

Spreadsheet as a Computational Tool (1)
J K Tan September 02