Excel is a spreadsheet program; it is part of the Microsoft Office package of programs and works easily with Word and PowerPoint, as well as other programs.  A spreadsheet is an electronic version of an accountant's ledger of lines, columns, and rows that make entering and keeping order for large amounts of numbers easy.  You enter data into individual cells in the spreadsheet, usually numbers (but you can put words or pictures into the cells as well).  The power of the spreadsheet is its ability to perform calculations on the numbers, including complex and sophisticated statistical analyses.  But that is not all.  You can enter formulas to automate summary calculations.  Each cell is relational to every other cell, which means that when you change (e.g., update) information in one cell, related cells and calculations with formulas using data from that cell automatically change to reflect the new information.  You can sort the data within the cells in columns to reorder the data.  As in a word processing program, you can enhance the appearance of the spreadsheet in many ways--for example, inserting pictures or graphics, adjusting font sizes or styles, and so forth.  Using the data in the cells, you can easily create graphs or charts to visually model the data.  All of these powerful characteristics are useful in many ways, especially in business decision-making, government, and so forth; some people attribute the amazingly rapid growth of the personal computer industry to invention of the electronic spreadsheet.  The purpose of this assignment is to introduce you to how Excel works and get you past the beginner user stage.  Follow these steps, and behold! 

Project One: Make a Graph Using Real Money  Follow along with your professor to make a chart showing the highest price home various annual incomes (associated with highest education levels) can qualify for at a typical bank, based on information in a news article.  You might present this information in a report using PowerPoint.   Income update information can be found at http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0883617.html

Project Two: Make a Checkbook Using the model in the thumbnail, create a personal checkbook for yourself.  Put about twenty rows of real or fictitious transactions in it.  You will need to enter a formula to keep your running balance.  The last column is the type of expenditure (school, medical, rent, movies, etc.) which is useful for organizing and understanding how you spend money; it is also useful at the end of year to sort your checkbook to calculate various amount of income tax deductions.  Good luck!