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Introduction

Google Sheets is a powerful online spreadsheet tool that’s free, collaborative, and beginner-friendly. This tutorial is designed to help you practice by doing. By the end of Day 1, you'll be confident with the interface, entering data, formatting, and using basic formulas.


Prerequisite

  • A Google account

  • Visit sheets.google.com and click on + Blank to create a new sheet


Day 1: Getting Started with Google Sheets

Objective:

Understand the basics of Google Sheets: how to navigate, enter data, format cells, and use simple formulas.


Step 1: Understanding the Interface

What You’ll See:

  • The Formula Bar: where you type formulas like =10+5

  • The Toolbar: bold, colors, font sizes, insert options

  • Sheet Tabs: visible at the bottom, you can add multiple sheets

  • Cells: each box is called a cell (like A1, B1, etc.)

Try It:

  • Click on any cell and type something.

  • Click the “+” button at the bottom to add a new sheet.

  • Click on a cell, type =10+5, and press enter.


Step 2: Entering and Formatting Data

Task:

Create the following table in your new sheet:

Name Age City
Ravi 23 Indore
Simran 24 Bhopal
Aisha 22 Ujjain

Practice:

  • Make the header row bold

  • Center-align the Age column

  • Italicize the City column

  • Add borders to the entire table

  • Bonus: Add your own row below the table with your name


Step 3: Formatting a Title

Task:

  • Click cell A1

  • Type: Student Info Sheet

  • Select A1 to C1 and click Merge

  • Make the merged cell bold and center aligned

This is how we create section headers in Sheets.


Step 4: Basic Formulas

Table:

Item Price (₹)
Pen 10
Notebook 25
Pencil 5
Eraser 8

Formulas to Practice:

  • In a new cell, type: =SUM(B2:B5) → adds all prices

  • Try: =AVERAGE(B2:B5) → gives average

  • Try: =MAX(B2:B5) → highest value

  • Try: =MIN(B2:B5) → lowest value

Try changing some price values and watch the result auto-update!


Step 5: The Formatting Playground

A B C
Fill with color Make bold text Merge these

Try:

  • Change cell colors (Fill color in toolbar)

  • Change font size, bold/italic

  • Merge cells across columns

  • Wrap text: Format > Wrapping > Wrap

Use this as your playground to experiment!


Step 6: Challenge – Create a Marksheet

Create the following table:

Name Math English Science Total Average
Raj 80 85 90    
Simran 78 88 86    
Aisha 90 92 89    

Add:

  • In Total column: =SUM(B2:D2) and drag the fill handle down

  • In Average column: =AVERAGE(B2:D2) and drag down

  • Format headers in bold, add borders


What You Learned Today:

  • Navigating the Google Sheets interface

  • Entering and formatting tables

  • Merging cells and adding titles

  • Basic formulas: SUM, AVERAGE, MAX, MIN

  • Auto-filling formulas