Greetings!

There are several Excel functions that you may find useful in Unit 2. Below is a brief description of the different functions and general notes.

Sum: Used to find the arithmetic sum of a group of data.Usage: =SUM(data range)

Square root: Used to find the square root of a number.Usage: =SQRT( number or equation )

Maximum value: Used to find the maximum value in group of data.Usage: =MAX(data range)

Minimum value: Used to find the maximum value in group of data.Usage: =MIN(data range)

Count: Used to find the number of elements in a group of data.Usage: =COUNT(data range)

Average: Used to find the mean of a group of data.Usage: =AVERAGE(data range)

Median: Used to find the median (middle value) of a group of data.Usage: =MEDIAN(data range)

Mode: Used to find the mode of a group of data. IMPORTANT: The Excel Mode function does not calculate the mode in the same way as defined in the MM207 text. If you use this function, it is possible that you may get an incorrect answer. This function should not be used.

Sample Standard Deviation: Used to find the standard deviation for sample data.Usage: =STDEV(data range)

Population Standard Deviation: Used to find the standard deviation for population data.Usage: =STDEVP(data range)

Quartile: Used to calculate quartiles. IMPORTANT: The Excel Quartile function does not calculate quartiles in the same way as defined in the MM207 text. If you use this function, it is possible that you may get an incorrect answer. This function should not be used.

Note: In the functions outlined above "data range" refers to the cell range in Excel that your data occupies. I find it easiest to enter data in a column. If you data starts in Cell A1 and ends in Cell A9, then you "data range" will be A1:A9.

I hope you find these Excel function descriptions useful.

Regards,Dr. Apryl Lynn