Computer Applications
A self-employed car mechanic uses a spreadsheet to calculate bills for customers.
(a) The mechanic made a mistake when entering the cost of an air filter. An air filter costs Rs. 400.00.
Complete the sentences using words from this list.
C7 ; copy ; D8 ; D7 ; rename ; highlight
(i) The mechanic can change the cost of an air filter by editing cell ……………… .
(ii) The mechanic should ……………… the cell and enter the new cost.
(b) Give the cell references of two cells that should change automatically when the cost of an air filter is changed.
(c) Cells can contain numbers or text.
Tick three boxes to show other types of information a cell can contain.
| Tick three boxes | |
|---|---|
| Printer | |
| Website address | |
| Idea | |
| Formula | |
| Picture | |
| Word processor |
(d) On-line help is available within the spreadsheet.
Tick three boxes to show what should be in the on-line help for the spreadsheet.
| Tick three boxes | |
|---|---|
| A lesson on percentages so the mechanic can calculate VAT | |
| An index to help the mechanic find the information needed | |
| A road map to help the mechanic find the route to the parts warehouse | |
| A tutorial guide to help the mechanic use the spreadsheet | |
| A dictionary that helps the mechanic understand the meaning of words | |
| A search engine to help the mechanic find the information needed |
(e)
(i) The mechanic has to buy the air filter from an on-line store.
Write the labels in order to show how the mechanic can do this.
| Label | |
|---|---|
| A | Pay using a credit card |
| B | Enter the key words: air filter, and press the search button |
| C | Go to the on-line store using a web browser |
| D | Look at the search results and find the right air filter |
(ii) The mechanic uses a search engine to find where to buy the air filter.
State two reasons why the mechanic might search only websites in the India.
(f) The mechanic gives customers a credit rating from 1 to 3.
| Credit Rating | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Pays promptly and in full on collecting the car |
| 2 | Pays within four weeks of collecting the car |
| 3 | Money still owed after four weeks |
A customer who pays after four weeks is given the same credit rating as a customer who does not pay.
(i) Describe one limitation of this coding system designed in OOo Calc.
(ii) Design an improved coding system, if possible.
Answer
(a)
(i) The mechanic can change the cost of an air filter by editing cell C7.
(ii) The mechanic should highlight the cell and enter the new cost.
(b) The two cells that should change automatically when the cost of an air filter is changed are C10 and C11.
(c)
| Tick three boxes | |
|---|---|
| Printer | |
| Website address | ✓ |
| Idea | |
| Formula | ✓ |
| Picture | ✓ |
| Word processor |
(d)
| Tick three boxes | |
|---|---|
| A lesson on percentages so the mechanic can calculate VAT | |
| An index to help the mechanic find the information needed | ✓ |
| A road map to help the mechanic find the route to the parts warehouse | |
| A tutorial guide to help the mechanic use the spreadsheet | ✓ |
| A dictionary that helps the mechanic understand the meaning of words | |
| A search engine to help the mechanic find the information needed | ✓ |
(e)
(i) The mechanic can buy an air filter in the following manner:
C — Go to the on-line store using a web browser
B — Enter the key words: air filter, and press the search button
D — Look at the search results and find the right air filter
A — Pay using a credit card
(ii) Two reasons the mechanic might search only websites in the India are :
- Local Compatibility — Searching for websites within India ensures that the mechanic finds options that are specifically designed to fit vehicles commonly used in the Indian market.
- Get the best price and faster delivery — By focusing on websites within India, the mechanic will avoid import duties so he can get the air filter at the best price. Also shipping time from suppliers within India will be less compared to overseas suppliers.
(f)
(i) One limitation of the coding system described in the scenario is that it lacks differentiation between different levels of late payments. In this system, both a customer who pays after four weeks and a customer who doesn't pay at all are given the same credit rating of 3. It fails to distinguish between a customer who eventually pays but is consistently late and a customer who doesn't pay at all.
(ii) An improved coding system could address this limitation by incorporating more levels of credit ratings to reflect different degrees of payment behavior. Here's a possible improved coding system:
| New Credit Rating | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Pays promptly and in full on collecting the car |
| 2 | Pays within two weeks of collecting the car |
| 3 | Pays within four weeks of collecting the car |
| 4 | Pays within six weeks of collecting the car |
| 5 | Pays after six weeks but within two months |
| 6 | Money still owed after two months |
Related Questions
Write commands for the operations (i) — (ii) based upon the spreadsheet shown below :
(i) To calculate the total salary as sum of Basic Salary, HRA and DA for each employee for the year 1997.
(ii) To calculate the total salary of each employee for the year 1998 as sum of salary for the year 1997 and bonus. Also calculate the percentage increase in the total salary from 1997 to 1998 for each employee.
A university student uses a PC to help plan a budget for the first term. Their first attempt is shown below.
(a) Tick one box to show which type of software package has been used.
Tick one box only Graphics Database Spreadsheet Multimedia (b) Which cell contains the spending on rent per week ?
(c) Which one of the following is the formula used in cell D23 ?
Tick one box only = D21 - D8 = D8 - D21 = sum(D2 : D12) (d) Tick one box to show a disadvantage of using a software package to help work out the budget rather than using a calculator, pen and paper.
Tick one box only The formulae could be wrong The wrong prices could be input A virus may corrupt the information Multiple printouts could be produced A customer downloads a bank account statement from an online bank.
The statement is downloaded into a spreadsheet.
(a) Tick three boxes to show what can be contained in a cell in a spreadsheet.
Tick three boxes A mouse A date A number A website A picture A word processor (b) The cell reference of the cell which contains 'Balance brought forward' is B3.
- Write down the cell reference of the cell which contains .'Gas Company'.
- Write down the cell reference of the cell which contains .'Paid out'.
(c) Tick one box to show the formula contained in cell E6.
Tick one box only =E6 + C6 + D6 =E5 - C6 + D6 =D5 + D6 + D7 =E5 * C6 * D6 =E5 + C5 + D5 (d) Tick one box to show the formula contained in cell E9.
Tick one box only =E8 =E8 - C8 + D8 =E7 * C8 * D8 =E8 + D8 =E8 - C8 (e) (i) Tick three boxes to show what a spreadsheet should be used for.
Tick three boxes Controlling output from a scanner Drawing a picture of the car you want to buy Calculating mortgage repayments Writing to the bank manager Modelling future spending Displaying the balance carried forward each month of the year in a graph (ii) State one other task a spreadsheet can be used for.
(f) The customer is using a word processor to fill in a tax return.
The customer needs to copy the monthly interest into the tax return.
Write down the labels in order to show how cell D7 could be copied into the tax return.
Label A Position the cursor in the word processor B Select copy C Select paste D Highlight D7 in the spreadsheet (g) The customer saves the statement on a flash memory stick. Give one reason why this may not be secure and suggest a way to make the statement more secure.
(h) Tick one box to show how much space the spreadsheet file (.ods) is likely to use on backing storage.
Tick one box only 150 Megabytes 80 Gigabytes 15 Kilobytes 10 bytes 0 bytes A finance officer uses a spreadsheet to record sales from an equipment shop. This is part of the spreadsheet.
(a)
Label Formula Label Formula A =SUM(D4 : D10) D =SUM(D4 : D8) B =B7 * C7 E =A7 * B7 * C7 C =C6 * D6 - Write the label of the formula in cell D7.
- Write the label of the formula in cell D10.
(b) The price of a generator is reduced to 4000.00.
- Describe how the spreadsheet should be edited.
- When the spreadsheet was edited, the values displayed in some cells changed automatically. Write in the box the cell reference of two cell that changed automatically.
- Tick one box to show why a cell would change automatically when another cell is edited.
Tick one box only Spreadsheet cells are all linked The cell contains a formula that refers to the other cell All the cells know what is happening in other cells The cell contains a description that refers to the other cell The spreadsheet contains a graph