Using Excel 2010 - Adding Experimental Data

  1. Work on page Sheet1 of the notebook for the first set of data.

  2. Select the cell A2 using the mouse.

  3. Type the first data point, and then hit enter. The cell box will automatically move to the next box down the A column.

  4. Enter the next data point. Repeat until all the data is present in the A column of the spreadsheet.

  5. Type a suitable label describing the experimental data in the A1 cell. Note that table headings (and graph axes) should always be presented as Parameter / Units.

  6. Repeat for the second set of data in column B. This time the data label is absorbance (which is unitless). Your spreadsheet should now look like that shown below.

A Note on Superscripts & Subscripts

A better presentation of the title for the A column would be conc / ng ml-1. To do this:

Click on the A1 cell.

In the formula bar highlight -1.

Move the mouse over the highlighted text and right click.

From the list of options that appear, select Format.

Under the Effects options of the Format Cells Font tab, tick Superscript and then click OK.

A Note on Keyboard Shortcuts

Many useful symbols can be entered using keyboard shortcuts. A few of these are detailed below:

Alt + 0176 (on the numberpad) to produce °
Alt + 0177 (on the numberpad) to produce ±
Alt + 0178 (on the numberpad) to produce ²
Alt + 0179 (on the numberpad) to produce ³
Alt + 0181 (on the numberpad) to produce µ
Alt + 0188 (on the numberpad) to produce ¼
Alt + 0189 (on the numberpad) to produce ½
Alt + 0190 (on the numberpad) to produce ¾
Alt + 0197 (on the numberpad) to produce Å
Alt + 0215 (on the numberpad) to produce ×
Alt + 0247 (on the numberpad) to produce ÷

Greek symbols can be produced by changing the font to Symbol, and then typing the appropriate letter; e.g. a to produce a, D to produce D, etc.

Manipulating Data

Using Excel 2010 - Contents Page