Using marginal tax rates, students write a VLOOKUP formula with TRUE (approximate match) to determine tax owed. This models how a program searches a sorted array—a foundational data structures concept. Concepts taught: Data validation rules, array logic, and boolean operations.
Students create a month-by-month loan payoff table. As they drag the formula down 360 rows (for a 30-year mortgage), they witness iterative calculation in action—the same logic as a for loop in code. Concepts taught: Lookup tables, range matching, and static data storage. shad sluiter excel examples
Students input a 9x9 Sudoku puzzle. Using custom formulas in conditional formatting, the sheet highlights duplicate numbers in any row, column, or 3x3 box. This teaches set logic and uniqueness constraints—critical for database primary keys. Concepts taught: Modular arithmetic ( MOD ), nested logic, and sequence generation. Using marginal tax rates, students write a VLOOKUP
Students build a spreadsheet that calculates final grades based on categories (Homework: 40%, Exams: 50%, Participation: 10%). The twist: they must use nested IF statements to assign letter grades (A, B, C, etc.) based on the numeric score. This teaches conditional branching before if-else syntax. Concepts taught: Iteration (simulated by dragging formulas), financial functions ( PMT , IPMT , PPMT ), and circular reference awareness. Students create a month-by-month loan payoff table
