IGCSE Information and Communication Technology (9–1) 0983 · Topic 20

Spreadsheets: past paper questions

10 real questionsasked in 2 of the last 10 exam series2020–2022usually: Explain, Suggest, Give, Write, Describe

Real questions on spreadsheets

The newest 10 of 10 written questions. Open one to see it on the real paper.

0983/12 · May/June 2022 · Q9a[4]
Explain, in detail, what the formula in G2 does.
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0983/12 · May/June 2022 · Q9c[6]
Explain, using examples, the differences between a function and a formula.
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0983/11 · October/November 2021 · Q10a[3]
Explain the differences between a VLOOKUP function and a LOOKUP function.
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0983/11 · October/November 2021 · Q10b(i)[3]
Explain, in detail, what the formula in cell E2 does.
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0983/11 · October/November 2021 · Q10b(ii)[2]
When certain room numbers are typed into cell D2 unexpected results appear in cell E2. Suggest improvements that could be made to ensure the correct result is displayed. A teacher in the school has created a spreadsheet to display whether a student has good timekeeping when arriving at lessons. He has produced a formul...
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0983/11 · October/November 2020 · Q10b[1]
Give the name of the country that satisfies the search criteria in part (a). The student has transferred the data into a spreadsheet in order to create a graph. A B C D E F G World Earthquakes - 2019 1 2 Country 3 Vanuatu 6.9 26 Vanuatu 5 4 Vanuatu 6.7 24 Indonesia 1 5 Indonesia 6.1 29 Nepal 1 6 Vanuatu 6.7 27.6 Myanma...
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0983/11 · October/November 2020 · Q10c(i)[4]
She has entered a formula in cell G3. The formula is COUNTIF(A$3:A$19,F3) Explain in detail what the formula in G3 does. Include in your answer an explanation of the use of the $ sign.
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0983/11 · October/November 2020 · Q10c(ii)[6]
The student is creating an appropriate chart/graph of the data in cells F3 to G10. Write down the steps she needs to take to produce a chart/graph of the data on the same sheet. Your answer must include examples of an appropriate title and labels.
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0983/12 · May/June 2020 · Q4b(ii)[4]
The teacher has typed a formula in cell E3. The formula is ROUNDUP(AVERAGE(B3:D3),0) Explain, in detail, what the formula does.
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0983/12 · May/June 2020 · Q4c[6]
The teacher has produced a graph showing the differences between the forecast grade and the average grade for each student. The graph looks like this. Describe the steps taken to create the graph. Include in your answer three improvements that could be made to the graph. Method Improvement Improvement Improvement
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What examiners said

Many responses attempted to explain the formula in context. In order to improve answers to questions like this, candidates should explain the formula in full rather than breaking the formula into the different components and then explaining each of them separately. Better responses clearly identified the use of the 2 was to find the corresponding value from the second column, also the correct use...
— Examiner report, May/June 2022, 0983/12 Q9(a) (Cambridge)

Some candidates achieved some marks for giving examples of a formula and a function. Better responses identified that functions were named, built in pieces of code in a spreadsheet and that formulas were written by the user. Also, that formulas can contain functions. Examples of both functions and formulas were allowed.
— Examiner report, May/June 2022, 0983/12 Q9(c) (Cambridge)

Many candidates knew that the V in VLOOKUP stands for vertical but were not able to express what the function does in a suitable way. LOOKUP was often stated to look up values anywhere, rather than searching vertically and horizontally.
— Examiner report, October/November 2021, 0983/11 Q10(a) (Cambridge)

Practise this topic

Answer these questions online and get each one marked against the official mark scheme, with what you missed and how to fix it.

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In the syllabus

1 0417.20.1.01 — Insert cell(s), row(s) and column(s), delete cell(s), row(s) and column(s), merge cells Create formulae using cell references Replicate form

Insert cell(s), row(s) and column(s), delete cell(s), row(s) and column(s), merge cells Create formulae using cell references Replicate formulae using absolute and relative cell references where appropriate Use arithmetic operators in formulae including add, subtract, multiply, divide, indices Use named cells and named ranges Use functions including sum, average, maximum, minimum, integer, rounding, counting, LOOKUP, VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, IF Use external data sources within functions Use nested functions
The difference between a formula and a function
The order in which mathematical operations are performed including the use brackets to make sure that formulae work
Characteristics and use of absolute and relative cell referencing

2 0417.20.1.02 — The difference between a formula and a function

The difference between a formula and a function

3 0417.20.1.03 — The order in which mathematical operations are performed including the use brackets to make sure that formulae work

The order in which mathematical operations are performed including the use brackets to make sure that formulae work

4 0417.20.1.04 — Characteristics and use of absolute and relative cell referencing

Characteristics and use of absolute and relative cell referencing

5 0417.20.2.01 — Using a single criterion, or multiple criteria sort data into ascending or descending order

Using a single criterion, or multiple criteria sort data into ascending or descending order
Using a single criterion, or multiple criteria, select subsets of data Perform searches using a variety of operators including AND, OR, NOT, >, <, =, >=, <=, <> Perform searches using wildcards

6 0417.20.2.02 — Using a single criterion, or multiple criteria, select subsets of data Perform searches using a variety of operators including AND, OR, NOT,

Using a single criterion, or multiple criteria, select subsets of data Perform searches using a variety of operators including AND, OR, NOT, >, <, =, >=, <=, <> Perform searches using wildcards

7 0417.20.3.01 — Display either formulae or values Adjust row height, column width and cell sizes so that all data, labels, and formulae is fully visible Wra

Display either formulae or values Adjust row height, column width and cell sizes so that all data, labels, and formulae is fully visible Wrap text within cells so that all data is fully visible Hide and display rows and columns
Enhance a spreadsheet including text colour, cell colour, bold, underline, italic, shading Format numeric data appropriately including to display the number of decimal places, different currency symbols, percentages Use conditional formatting to change the display format depending on the contents of a cell
Set the orientation to portrait or landscape Control the page layout to print including specified number of pages, print area, display or hide gridlines, display or hide row and column headings

8 0417.20.3.02 — Enhance a spreadsheet including text colour, cell colour, bold, underline, italic, shading Format numeric data appropriately including to di

Enhance a spreadsheet including text colour, cell colour, bold, underline, italic, shading Format numeric data appropriately including to display the number of decimal places, different currency symbols, percentages Use conditional formatting to change the display format depending on the contents of a cell

9 0417.20.3.03 — Set the orientation to portrait or landscape Control the page layout to print including specified number of pages, print area, display or hi

Set the orientation to portrait or landscape Control the page layout to print including specified number of pages, print area, display or hide gridlines, display or hide row and column headings

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