Microsoft Excel Lesson: Definition, Charts & Tools

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Updated: Apr 2, 2025

Lesson

Microsoft Excel is more than just a spreadsheet. It's a powerful tool used by students, teachers, businesses, and scientists to organize information, calculate numbers, and create colorful charts. But if you're new to Excel, it might seem a little confusing at first.

In this lesson, you'll learn how to navigate Excel, enter and format data, use important tools like AutoSum and charts, and understand how Excel helps in school projects and real-world situations.

What Is Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program made by Microsoft. It helps you:

Store information
Calculate numbers automatically
Sort and filter data
Create charts and graphs
Organize tasks, scores, or records

Excel uses a grid of cells made up of rows (going left to right) and columns (going up and down). Each little box in the grid is called a cell, and each one has a name like "A1" (Column A, Row 1).

Rows, Columns, and Cells

Excel is made up of a worksheet grid with:

Columns labeled with letters (A, B, C…)
Rows labeled with numbers (1, 2, 3…)

Term	Direction	Example Label
Column	Up and down	A, B, C
Row	Left to right	1, 2, 3
Cell	One box in the grid	A1, B2, C5

If you type something in cell A1 and press Enter, the cursor moves to A2. Excel moves down to the next row unless you use the arrow keys.

Selecting and Formatting Cells

Sometimes you want to make your spreadsheet easier to read or more colorful. You can select cells and format them using tools like:

Bold, Italic, Underline
Font size and color
Cell Borders
Cell Styles (Quick designs for color and size)

You can highlight cells by clicking and dragging or clicking the small triangle at the top-left corner (called "the corner of nowhere") to select the entire sheet.

Resizing Rows and Columns

To make your spreadsheet look neat, you can change the size of a row or column.

How to resize:

Hover your mouse over the edge of the letter (column) or number (row).
When you see a double-arrow, click and drag to resize.

This is helpful when your text doesn't fit inside a cell.

Take This Quiz:

Microsoft excel quiz

Merging Cells

Sometimes, you want to create a big title across multiple columns. You can do this by merging cells.

Example:

Merging cells A1, B1, and C1 turns them into one big cell-great for titles or headings.

To merge:

Select the cells
Click "Merge & Center"

This makes your spreadsheet look clean and organized.

Borders and Cell Styles

To separate sections or make data stand out, you can:

Add borders around cells
Use cell styles for quick formatting (colors, font size, bold)

Borders help you draw lines around specific cells, like tables or boxes.

Charts and Graphs in Excel

Excel helps you turn numbers into pictures by creating charts. Charts help you visualize data and explain patterns clearly.

Chart Type	Best Used For	Example
Pie Chart	Showing parts of a whole	Election results
Bar Chart	Comparing groups or categories	Number of books read by students
Line Chart	Showing change over time	Tracking student savings for 12 months

To create a chart:

Select your data
Click "Insert" > "Chart"

Choose the chart that best fits your information.

AutoSum and Average: Doing Math in Excel

Excel isn't just about organizing-it can do the math for you!

AutoSum:

Quickly adds a list of numbers.
Click the cell below a column of numbers.
Click "AutoSum" (Σ symbol), then Enter.

Average:

Want to know the average score in a class?

Use AutoSum > Average to find the mean of numbers.

This saves time and reduces mistakes.

Sorting and Organizing Data

When you have a long list of information, Excel helps you sort it:

Alphabetically (A to Z or Z to A)
By number (smallest to largest)

Example:

If you're listing names of students and their test scores, sorting can help:

Find the top scores
Organize by name
See who needs help

Sorting makes large data sets easy to scan and understand.

Conditional Formatting

Conditional formatting helps highlight important data automatically.

Example:

Test scores above 90 turn green
Scores below 60 turn red

You can:

Choose your colors
Set rules (like "if score > 80, color is green")

This helps you see trends or spot problems at a glance.

Inserting Images

You can make your spreadsheet more fun by inserting clip art or pictures.

Example:

Add a puppy clipart to decorate a pet adoption chart
Insert class photos into a student project

To insert:

Click "Insert" > "Pictures" or "Clip Art"

It's a quick way to make your spreadsheet more engaging.

When NOT to Use Excel

Excel is powerful-but it's not always the best tool.

Use Excel When	Don't Use Excel When
You need to do math, organize data, or chart	You want to write an essay (use Word)
You're creating a graph or table	You need to make a slideshow (use PowerPoint)
You want to track or sort information	You just want to decorate with pictures

Knowing when to use Excel helps you choose the right tool for your task.