Question

1. Jeff needs to make a calculation on data in rows of an Excel spreadsheet. He creates a new column, and in the first row of this column, he writes a formula. He verifies the resulting number is correct. He then double-clicks the bottom right of the cell to perform the same calculation on all other rows in the column (AutoFill). After he double-clicks, he sees the numbers appear. What would be the next thing Tony should do?
   1. Chart the data in a line graph to make sure the data can be plotted.
   2. Select one random row and perform the calculation manually, to get a level of assurance the formula worked correctly for all rows and the correct data is shown.
   3. Change the formula to put a dollar sign (“$”) on both sides of the column letter to ensure the data is locked.
   4. Nothing further needs to be done except to save the workbook file.

Answer 1

Excel spreadsheet supports autofill feature, which can easily calculate values for different rows for a specific column based on a specific formula which considers elements from other cells following a patter (For example addition of all the first and second cell of each rows will be calculated to the third cell). This AutoFill feature saves time from manual calculation for all cells of a particular column.

In the given scenario, after Jeff creates a new column, and in the first row of this column, he writes a formula. He verifies the resulting number is correct. He then double-clicks the bottom right of the cell to perform the same calculation on all other rows in the column (AutoFill). After he double-clicks, he sees the numbers appear. At this moment Jeff has got all his required data in the Autofilled column, which will be correct since the first resulting number is correct. Now the only task left for Jeff (or Tony) is to save the spreadsheet so that the calculated data will be saved in the excel file.

Correct Answer: Nothing further needs to be done except to save the workbook file.     [Option d]

Explanation for not opting other options:

Option 1: There is no need to chart the data in a line graph to make sure the data can be plotted. The results calculated by AutoFill feature will be correct.

Option 2: No need to check manually the correctness of any data, since they will be correct based on the formula.

Option 3: No such locking of data is required.