UCL

EDUCATION & INFORMATION SUPPORT DIVISION

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Excel 2003

Charting with Excel

Exercises

Document No. IS-038 v2

UCL Information Systems 0 Charting with Excel - Exercises

Content
Task 1 – Charting category data
Task 2 – More category data
Task 3 – Charting time series data
Task 4 – Charting relationships between numerical data
Task 5 – Dealing with problems
Task 6 – Amending an Existing Chart
Task 7 – Plotting non-adjacent cells
Task 8 – Formatting Charts
Task 9 – Error bars
Task 10 – Printing Charts
Task 11 – Using Trendlines
Task 12 – Copying charts into Word

These exercises accompany the Charting with Excel workbook

produced by UCL Information Systems. You will need to download files
to accompany the course from www.ucl.ac.uk/is/training/exercises.htm
– click on the Excel link to download the files.

UCL Information Systems Document No. IS025-v3

Task 1 – Charting category data
1 Open the file time-activities.xls and , using the Chart Wizard, create a
column chart to show how much time is spent on each activity. Note that
the series are in columns.
a) Use ‘Time spent on each activity’ as the chart title, ‘hours’ as the y-
axis title, and ‘activity’ as the category axis title.
b) Don’t include a legend since there is only one series.
2 Create a second chart for the same data - this time as a pie chart:
a) Display the category name, and the data as percentages of total time
available (Step 3).

Task 2 – More category data

The file evals.xls contains evaluation data from a set of training courses.
Seven courses were run, and the evaluations were split into four categories.
1. Create a clustered column chart to show just the Presentation and
Instruction scores for all of the courses:
3 In Step 2 the data should be organised in columns
4 Use ‘Course Scores’ as the chart title, enter ‘Course’ as the category axis
label, and use ‘Score’ as the value axis label.
5 Embed the chart as an object within the current Worksheet.
6 Position the chart in a suitable place on the worksheet and enlarge it if
necessary to display all the information.
7 Change the value in cell C6 to 4.8 and note that the chart updates to
reflect this change. Undo this change.
2 Save the file as evals1.xls.

Task 3 – Charting time series data

1 Open the file monthly-ice-thicknes.xls and create a chart to show how
ice thickness varied between October and March for each year (treat each
year as a separate series).
2 Ensure that the chart is properly labelled. (Note the thicknesses are in
metres) and save the file.

Task 4 – Charting relationships between numerical data

In this task you will chart the relationship between height and age for girl and
boy babies.

UCL Information Systems Document No. IS025-v3

1 Open the file baby-heights.xls and select all of the age and height data
(cells A3:C10).
2 Using the Chart Wizard, create an XY scatter plot without any line.
3 Include appropriate labels for the axes and a chart title.
4 Insert it as a new sheet in the Workbook. Save and close the Workbook.

Task 5 – Dealing with problems

Sometimes the series data are may not be presented as required. In this
example you will create a chart using the F11 shortcut and discover that you
have to adjust the way in which the series are presented.
1 Open the chart.xls file and select all three series.
2 Press F11 to create a chart automatically.
3 Change the chart type so that it is a line chart.
4 Modify the chart’s location so that it is embedded in sheet 1, and place it
below the original chart.
5 Compare the new chart with the original – you should spot that the first
data points should actually be labels – but because they are numbers (2002
and 2003) Excel has assumed that they are data points. Hence the legend
text is Series 1 and Series 2, rather than the actual labels.
6 Modify the source data for the chart so that the labels 2002 and 2003
actually appear as labels in the legend rather than as data points. This may
take some fiddling, but the end result should be similar to the original
chart above.
7 This task should have provided a valuable lesson in the need to do a reality
check when generating charts, to ensure that they do depict what you
intended. Save the file.

Task 6 – Amending an Existing Chart

1 Open the evals1.xls file created previously.
2 Now add the two remaining series to the chart this time to show the scores
for all four aspects of the courses (Presentation, Instruction, Exercises and
Handbook).
3 Select the chart which shows all four series (Presentation, Instruction,
Exercises and Handbook) and from the Chart menu change the chart
location to As New Sheet.
4 Change the Scale settings on the Y axis to: Minimum 0, Maximum 10,
Major Unit 2.
5 Select the Number tab and check that decimal places is set to zero.
6 Set the font settings for the category axis to Arial, Regular and 8pt.
7 Now delete all series apart from the Exercises series from the chart.

UCL Information Systems 2 Charting with Excel - Exercises

8 Delete the legend, and the value axis label Score.
9 Save the file as evals2.xls.

Task 7 – Plotting non-adjacent cells

1 Open the original evals.xls file and create a new column chart to display
the Instruction and Handbook scores for all of the courses.
2 Save the file as evals3.xls.

Task 8 – Formatting Charts

1 Open the workbook formatting-charts.xls and create a Clustered
Column chart from the following ranges:
A1:M1, A4:M4, A10:M10 and A14:M14 (hold down the Ctrl key as you
select each range).
2 Ensure the Data Series is set to Rows, and give your chart the title ‘2003
Results’, and use ‘£’ as the value axis label.
3 Place the chart as an object in the Company worksheet.
4 Drag the chart to a suitable position on the worksheet and resize it making
it approximately 12 columns wide.
5 Edit the format of the Turnover data series as follows:
- change the colour and weight of the border,
- use the Fill Effect feature to fill the Turnover data series with a Texture of
your choice.
6 Experiment with gradient fill effects, for the area behind the columns (Plot
Area).
7 Remove all borders and fills from the area to the edge of the chart (Chart
Area).
8 Change the colour of the text for both the Value Axis and the Category
Axis.
9 Move the legend box into the middle section of your chart (the chart wall).
10 Click in the Formula Bar and enter the text We are Rich!. Press Enter.
11 Double click on the edge of the resulting text box to display the Format
Text dialog box and change the font, etc as required. Position the text box
at the top of the chart.
12 Save the workbook as formatting-charts2.xls and then close it.

UCL Information Systems 3 Charting with Excel - Exercises

Task 9 – Error bars
1 Open the baby-heights.xls file used in a previous task.
2 Amend the chart to show error bars fixed at 5.5cm above and below each
data point for the Girls data.
3 Now add 6.1 cm error bars for the Boys data.
4 The chart probably looks rather crowded. Amend the scale on the y-axis to
display height values between 40 and 100 cm, with major units of 10cm,
and minor units of 5cm.
5 Now switch to Sheet 2 – this sheet has individual error measurements for
each data point in columns D (Girls) and E (Boys). Create a new XY chart,
this time just displaying the Boy data. Use lines to join the data points.
Place this chart on a separate sheet.
6 Add custom error bars to the chart, based on the error data in column E
and save the file.

Task 10 – Printing Charts

1. Select Sheet1 in the baby-heights.xls file.
2. Print the chart on this worksheet so that the chart and worksheet data
are both printed out on the same sheet of paper.
3. Print the same chart so that the chart alone fills the page.

Task 11 – Using Trendlines

1 Open the workbook trendlines.xls and change the chart type to a
Clustered Column chart.
2 Make the data series wider by dragging the right edge of the chart across
to column K.
3 Add a Moving Average trendline to the Turnover data series, leaving the
period set to 2. Close the Add Trendline dialogue box.
4 Edit the trendline as follows:
a) from the Format Trendline dialog box, click the Options tab and key
the name Turnover in the Custom box,
b) change the colour of the Trendline to red,
c) on the Type tab, select Linear and click OK.
5 Edit the Trendline again and set the Type to Polynomial and on the
Options tab set the Forward Forecast to 5 then click OK.
6 Create another Polynomial Trendline for Spending, this time in green. Set
the Forward Forecast to 5 periods. Save
Turnover vs the workbook and close.
Spending
60000

40000 Turnover
Spending
20000
Turnover
UCL Information
0 Systems 4 Charting with Excel - Exercises
Spending
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
-20000
Task 12 – Copying charts into Word
1 Open the chart.xls file and copy the first chart.
2 Open Word and paste the chart into a new document. Double-click to open
the chart – you will see that it has been stored simply as a picture, and that
it is not possible to edit it.
3 Now copy the chart from Excel and this time use Edit>Paste Special to
paste it into the Word document as a Microsoft Excel Chart Object. If you
double-click now you will be able to edit the Excel chart from within Word
(Excel toolbars are now available to you). Note that changes you make will
not affect the original Excel file.
4 Finally copy the chart from Excel, again using Edit>Paste Special to
paste it into the Word document as a Microsoft Excel Chart Object – but
this time choose click the Paste Link box. This maintains a link with the
original file - if you double-click now you will open the original Excel file. If
you change the original file you will be prompted to update the Word file
next time you open it.

UCL Information Systems 5 Charting with Excel - Exercises