Working with Charts and Graphics CREATING CHARTS Lesson 6 - Microsoft Excel 2010

Learning Goal The goal of this lesson is for students to successfully create charts to present data in Microsoft Excel 2010. The student will learn to apply, create, and modify various types of charts.

Learning Objectives On completion of this lesson, students will be able to do the following: Create charts Move, resize, and delete charts Modify chart titles Move and format chart elements Change chart types and organize source data Update data and format the axes Add gridlines and arrows Using illustrations Preview and print charts

Lesson Introduction Microsoft Excel enables users to create pictorial representations of data using charts. What type of data might be appropriate for a chart? Which type of chart is best suited to represent that data?

Creating Charts There are six common charts used in business. Column Chart Bar Chart most common charts Pie Chart Line Chart XY Scatter Exploded Pie Chart It is important to understand how and when each chart is used to communicate information.

Column Chart Column charts are used to make comparisons about groups of data This chart compares Senior, Junior, and Sophomore attendance rates at assemblies over a period of four months. Which group attends assemblies most consistently? – The sophomores have the most consistent attendance as evidenced by the gold columns. Which group attends the assemblies most inconsistently? – The seniors. Their attendance increases in January and February, shows a dramatic increase in March, and declines by more than half in April.

Stacked Bar Chart The stacked bar chart is used to represent the contribution of individual items to a whole Each bar is divided into two or more parts The length of the stacked bar represents a total

Pie Chart and Exploded Pie The Pie chart is used to represent only one series of data Examples: Percent (%) of each expenditure in a budget Percent of each investment type in a portfolio Answers the question, “What is the percentage of each part to the whole?” The Exploded Pie chart is used to emphasize one or more portions of the data Which item contributed the most percentage to East Region’s budget? Which Genre contributed the most percentage to the Music sales?

Line Chart The Line Chart is used to indicate trends in data Examine the Sales Trends chart below Which department showed the most growth? Which department showed a steady increase in sales? Which department showed a decline in sales?

XY Scatter Chart The XY Scatter chart is used to indicate a correlation between two or more sets of data A business example of an XY Chart is one that represents the effect (if any) of caffeine on worker productivity What affect did the wait time in the principal’s office have on pulse rate? What affect did the wait time in the doctor’s office have on pulse rate?

Selecting Data for a Chart When creating a chart, select only the data you wish to display. Totals are not usually used Click the insert tab to select the appropriate chart type to display your data There are two ways to display a chart As a separate chart sheet Embedded in the worksheet with the data Go to this tutorial for creating charts in Excel 2010.