A worksheet can also calculate data when you add formulas. Formulas in worksheets can save you time by doing many of the tedious calculations involved in record keeping for grades and attendance. It can also help you to teach students the relationships between numbers. For example, you can show students how much money can be saved in interest if you pay a loan in 36 months instead of 42 months. You can also keep track of loans, calculate averages for sports teams, determine gas mileage, or perform any other mathematical equations.

CREATE A CAR PAYMENT CALCULATION

A car payment calculation requires a fairly simple formula. This activity illustrates the ease with which you can add formulas to your worksheets. To calculate the payment, you need a loan amount, the term or length of the loan, and the interest rate. The following activity teaches you to add a formula to calculate the monthly payment on the car loan.

To Calculate A Car Payment

1. On the File menu, click New and then double-click Workbook.

2. In cell C2, type Car Payment Schedule and then press ENTER.

3. Type the following text in the cells shown in the worksheet below:

4. Format the column width.

5. Click cell D11, and on the Formula toolbar click the Edit Formula button (the = sign).

6. Click the Name Box drop-down list and click PMT, if visible.

- Or -

Click More Functions, click Financial in the Function category, click PMT in the Function name, and then click OK.

7. In the Rate window, type D5/12 (interest rate D5 divided by 12 months per year).

8. Click the Nper window and then type D6 (the term of the loan).

9. Click the Pv window and then type D7 (the principle value).

10. Click OK.

11. To change the months of the loan to 24, type 24 in cell D6.

12. To change the interest rate to 12.5% to demonstrate how the payment changes, type 12.5 in cell D5. Try several combinations on your own, and see how it works.

13. Save your work, and close the file.