My Time

You probably spend a lot of time doing a variety of things during a typical week. But do you have any idea how much time you spend eating or watching television during the week? In this activity, you will use a spreadsheet to add up the hours you spend eating, sleeping, watching television, and doing everything else you like to do.

A spreadsheet is a computerized chart, that can automatically do calculations whenever you change the information in the chart. Most spreadsheets can also create a variety of charts and graphs to visually display information.

Your finished spreadsheet should look something like the following:

This is how I spend my week. Your spreadsheet should show how you spend your week!

You will need to enter formulas in rows 9 and 10 and column B. Each formula will tell the spreadsheet to do a computation and display the result in that cell. Here are some of the formulas you might use:

You can use the Fill Across and Fill Down commands to avoid typing a lot of formulas that are all but identical. These commands copy the contents of a cell across a row or down a column, automatically changing formulas as you would usually expect.

For example, when you fill down column B, you will get these formulas:

And when you fill across row 10, you will get these formulas:

While the numbers in your spreadsheet do tell us how you spend your time, a picture is worth a thousand words. Create a bar graph and a pie chart from your data that show how you spend your time. Your bar graph might look something like this:

And your pie chart might look something like this:

Print a copy of your spreadsheet and your charts.

Claris Works Spreadsheet Specifics

The Fill Across and Fill Down commands are in the Calculate menu. To use them:

• Click the cell you want to copy
• Drag select the cells you want to fill
• Choose the Fill Across or Fill Down command

To create a chart:

• Drag select the cells you want in your chart
• Choose the Make Chart command from the Options menu
• Click the icon for the kind of chart you want to create
• Click the Labels button and enter a title
• Click the OK button to create your chart
• Position your chart in an unused part of your spreadsheet

You may need to experiment a little with the various options to make your chart look just right. You can change many aspects of your chart by double-clicking the chart.

When you create a chart, you usually select cells that include the labels and the data you want in the chart. For example, in the spreadsheet above, you should select columns A and B, rows 2 through 9. The labels in column A will be used as the labels for your chart.

Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet Specifics

The Fill Across and Fill Down commands are in the Edit menu. To use them:

• Click the cell you want to copy
• Drag select the cells you want to fill
• Choose the Fill Across or Fill Down command

To create a chart:

• Drag select the cells you want in your chart
• Click the chart button in the toolbar ... 2nd from the right
• Drag the mouse to create a frame for your chart
• Step through the chart set-up, clicking Next each step
• Finally, click the OK button when you're done

You may need to experiment a little with the various options to make your chart look just right. You can change many aspects of your chart by double-clicking the chart.

When you create a chart, you usually select cells that include the labels and the data you want in the chart. For example, in the spreadsheet above, you should select columns A and B, rows 2 through 9. The labels in column A will be used as the labels for your chart.