Excel, Super Calculator, Trainer and More

Excel is a Super calculator when it comes down to Arithmetic, and is also arguably a very good platform for teaching Arithmetic, and even coding.

In this segment I will demonstrate the power of Excel when applied to educating the young ones on Arithmetic.

Starting up Excel

Method 1

Look for this Icon on your PC desktop and if it is available then double-click on it to launch Excel.

Method 2

Alternatively, you could click on the Windows button.
Click here for a image of Windows button

Method 3

If you Left-click once on the Windows button it will lead you to the Windows Start Menu.
It should look something like this. Click here

If the above methods are not available then try this.
Go to your search box and type in EXCEL - no quotation marks.

The search windows should appear and Excel Icon should be available.If it does not show then I am afraid your Excel is not installed.

If Excel launched successfully it will open up with this showing.This Excel window will be different from yours as mine is cluttered
with stuff I already did. Barring the other stuff just focus on the part I am showing with 2 arrows.

To follow along with me I will like you to click on Blank or New ( followed by Blank ). I am showing you New only to tell you that there are 2 ways to start a brand new Workbook. By Excel nomenclature a Workbook is loosely speaking ,like a book or a paper file, for the sake of simplicity aimed at not confusing. As you learn Excel you will in time come to appreciate what a Workbook really is but for now just treat it as a file or a book.

After you click on Blank , Excel will start a new workbook and show you a blank Worksheet - loosely speaking like a page on your book. As you can see there is nothing on the page but you will notice that it is organized into rectangles and each rectangle is known as a Cell. Notice also that the Worksheet is organized into Rows and Columns. Each row has a number to identify it, starting from 1 to 1,048,576 and each column is identified by one or more alphabets starting from A to 16,384 If you hover your mouse over the numbers or alphabets Excel will highlight the rectangle where your mouse is.However, if you click on the rectangle of the Alphabet or number Excel will highlight the entire Column or Row.

Every rectangle or Cell on the worksheet is referenced or identified by a combination of Column/Row eg. A12 reference the Cell highlighted in the image. Each Cell is somewhat analogous to the rectangle you are taught to draw to solve Mathematics problems, however it is very much more which you will learn as we progress.

Arithmetic

There is One then there are more
One is the only true number. Everything else is a cluster, package or group of one.
1 is 1 of course
2 is 11
3 is 111
....
....

Addition

The number system we currently use is the Decimal system. This system requires us to count to 10. As a consequence of that when performing addition we must strive to sum to 10(s).
In order in to be proficient and speedy it is advantageous if you recognize and remember the combinations of numbers which add to 10 and even 20.

Combinations of 10

1 + 9
2 + 8
3 + 7
4 + 6
5 + 5

Combinations of 20

2 + 9 + 9
3 + 8 + 9
4 + 7 + 9
4 + 8 + 8
5 + 6 + 9
5 + 8 + 7
6 + 7 + 7
6 + 8 + 6