CIS300 - Study Guide for Test 1 - Reach - University of Louisville

CIS300 - Study Guide for Test 1 Reference the Course Schedule for your section in Blackboard for test date/time and lab location. Coverage  Course Syllabus PDF document  Management Information Systems Chapter 1: Business Information Systems: An Overview  Management Information Systems Chapter 3: Business Functions and Supply Chains (partial)  Management Information Systems Chapter 8: Collaborative Technologies (partial)  Excel Overview - New Features in 2007 and 2010, Some Essentials, and Basics presentations  Succeeding in Business with Microsoft Excel 2010 Chapter 1: Applying Fundamental Excel Skills and Tools in Problem Solving presentation  Functions: AVERAGE, COUNT, COUNTA, MAX, MIN, SUM (see below for details on these)  Succeeding in Business with Microsoft Excel 2010 Chapter 2: Solving Problems with Statistical Analysis Tools  Functions: LARGE, SMALL ROUND, COUNTIF, SUMIF, AVERAGEIF plus use of ampersand (&)  Succeeding in Business with Microsoft Excel 2010 Chapter 4: Applying Logic in Decision Making  Functions: Boolean logic (TRUE, FALSE, AND, OR, NOT), IF statements, nested functions, and conditional formatting  Homework Assignment 1

TIP! Suggested Review Strategy 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Start with a thorough review of the Test 1 Review slides in the Tests folder for our helpful hints. Review the respective Excel and MIS presentation slides in Course Documents folder (or your pre-printed copy) and study your personal notes that you recorded during related lectures. Review the Summary information, Key Terms, and Review Questions at the end of each MIS chapter. Some of this information is also available on the Web using the link below. Re-read (and further research) any textbook material that you do not thoroughly understand. If necessary, spend some time in the Tutorials folder getting specific help for Excel topics. Visit the Companion Web site for MIS at the URL noted below to review the Glossary of Key Terms in order to assess how familiar you are with the respective MIS material.

http://www.course.com/mis/mis6 6. 7.

Attend one of the Test 1 Review Sessions sponsored by REACH. Finally, take Sample Test v1 which is available in the Tests folder of Blackboard to get some additional experience with the format and content of questions that will be included on Test 1.

Excel You will need to be familiar with the syntax for each of the following functions as well as know under what circumstances to use them, how to apply each of them, and how to create formulas using them, including when they are nested together. Each of these initial basic functions are from the Statistical category in Excel with the exception of SUM, which is a Math function. 

University of Louisville

AVERAGE Syntax: =AVERAGE(number1, number2, ...) College of Business

CIS300 - Study Guide for Test 1 Fall Semester 2012

Page 2

number1, number2, ... number_n are numeric values - they can be numbers, named ranges, arrays, or references to numbers; there can be up to 30 values input; average is the arithmetic mean, calculated by adding (SUM) a group of numbers and then dividing by the COUNT of the numbers




COUNT Syntax: =COUNT(value1, value2, ...) value1, value2, ... value_n are 1 to 30 values that can contain or refer to a variety of different types of data; arguments that are numbers, dates, or text representation of numbers are counted



COUNTA Syntax: =COUNTA(value1, value2, ...) value1, value2, ... value_n are 1 to 30 arguments representing the values you want to count; a value does not include empty cells



MAX Returns the largest value in a set of values. Syntax: =MAX(number1, number2, ...) or =MAX(range_of_cells) Number1, number2, ... are 1 to 30 numbers for which you want to find the maximum value; arguments can either be numbers or names, arrays, or references that contain numbers; note that logical values and text representations of numbers that you have typed directly into the list of arguments are counted as well



MEDIAN Syntax: =MEDIAN(number1, number2, ...) number1, number2, ... number_n are numeric values - they can be numbers, named ranges, arrays, or references to numbers; there can be up to 30 values input; the median is the number in the middle of a given set of numbers If there is an even number of numbers in the set, then MEDIAN will calculate the average of the two numbers in the middle. See the second formula in the example If an array or reference argument contains text, logical values, or empty cells, those values are ignored; however, cells with zero are included



MIN Returns the smallest number in a set of values. Syntax: =MIN(number1, number2, ...) or =MIN(range_of_cells) Number1, number2, ... are 1 to 30 numbers for which you want to find the minimum value; arguments can either be numbers or names, arrays, or references that contain numbers; note that logical values and text representations of numbers that you have typed directly into the list of arguments are counted as well



SUM Syntax: =SUM(number1, number2, ...) or =SUM(range_of_cells) number1, number2, ... are 1 to 30 arguments for which you want the total value or sum of a given set of values; numbers, logical values, and text representations of numbers that you type directly into the arguments list are counted College of Business


Page 3

A couple of other useful Web sites to help with these Excel functions and formulas follow: http://www.exceltip.com/category.html#4 http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HP052001271033.aspx?pid=CH010004911033 Additional useful Web-based references as well as specific page notations in both the required and supplemental Excel textbooks may be found on the last two pages of the Homework Instructions PDF document. These may be downloaded from the respective sub-folders in the Assignments folder within Blackboard. Relative, Mixed, and Absolute cell references; Text vs. Cell Reference; Error Messages; Formula Auditing; Order of Evaluation; Percentages; Printing & Displaying; Excel Help. Review questions and answers at the end of chapters within the Excel textbook. Also reference the Web sites as noted on the last page of the Homework Instructions PDF file should the need arise for additional information. In addition to Excel functions we previously covered, you will need to be familiar with the syntax for each of the following functions as well as know under what circumstances to use them, how to apply them, and how to create formulas using them, including when they are nested together.




Conditional formatting and formulas and logical functions featuring:  Boolean logic TRUE (returns the logical value TRUE, equivalent to 1) FALSE (returns the logical value FALSE, equivalent to 0) AND (TRUE if all of the conditions are satisfied) OR (TRUE if any of the conditions are satisfied) NOT (reverses the value of either a TRUE or FALSE statement)  IF statements Syntax: =IF(logical_test,value_if_true,value_if_false) Note: the latter value_if_false is an optional argument, which defaults to a Boolean FALSE value if not explicitly specified in the function



Nested statements - one or more basic Excel functions nested in a formula, as well as a single IF function coupled or nested with other, more basic Excel functions



LARGE Syntax: =LARGE(array, nth_position) array is the array or range of numerical data for which you want to find nth largest value; if the array is empty, LARGE returns the #NUM! error nth_position is the position (from the largest) in the array or range to return If nth_position is less than or equal to zero or greater than the number of data points in the array or range, LARGE returns the #NUM! error value



ROUND Syntax: =ROUND(number, num_digits) number is the number or cell reference containing a numeric value that you want to round num_digits the number of digits to which you want to round the number If num_digits is greater than 0, then number is rounded to the specified number of decimal places College of Business


Page 4

If num_digits is equal to 0, then number is rounded to the nearest integer If num_digits is less than 0, then number is rounded to the specified number of digits to the left of the decimal point 

SMALL Syntax: =SMALL(array, nth_position) array is the array or range of numerical data for which you want to determine the nth smallest value nth_position is the position (from the smallest) in the array or range to return If the array is empty, SMALL returns the #NUM! error value If nth_position is less than or equal to zero or greater than the number of data points in the array or range, SMALL returns the #NUM! error value



COUNTIF (combines COUNT with a condition) Syntax: =COUNTIF(range,criteria) range is the range of cells that you want to count based on the criteria criteria is the criteria in the form of a number, expression, or text that defines which cells will be counted. For example, the count criteria can be expressed as 32, "32", ">32", or "apples"



SUMIF (combines SUM with a condition) Syntax: =SUMIF(range,criteria,sum_range) range is the range of cells that you want evaluated by criteria criteria is the criteria in the form of a number, expression, or text that defines which cells will be added. For example, criteria can be expressed as 32, "32", ">32", or "apples" sum_range is optional - the actual set of cells to add if their corresponding cells in range match criteria. If sum_range is omitted, the cells in range are both evaluated by criteria and added if they match criteria.



AVERAGEIF (combines AVERAGE with a condition) Syntax: =AVERAGEIF(range,criteria,sum_range) range is the range of cells that you want evaluated by criteria criteria is the criteria in the form of a number, expression, or text that defines which cells will be added. For example, criteria can be expressed as 32, "32", ">32", or "apples" average_range is optional - the actual set of cells to average if their corresponding cells in range match criteria. If average_range is omitted, the cells in range are both evaluated by criteria and averages if they match criteria specified.



&

The ampersand operator is used to concatenate (join) separate comparison operators (=, =, or ) with text strings, numeric values or a cell reference within the criteria specified for COUNTIF, SUMIF, AVERAGEIF

A few other useful Web sites to help with Excel functions and formulas we have covered include: http://spreadsheets.about.com/od/excelstatisticalfunctions/Excel_Statistical_Functions.htm http://www.bettersolutions.com/excel/EDH113/SO519013001.htm


College of Business


Page 5

http://functionx.com/excel/Lesson14.htm http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HP030561441033.aspx?pid=CH010005131033 http://macromountain.com/functions/nested-functions/ http://www.softwarepro.com/howto/exl_round_functions.htm http://www.techonthenet.com/excel/formulas/index.php http://www.keynotesupport.com/excel-functions-countif-advanced.shtml http://www.techonthenet.com/excel/formulas/sumif.php http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/averageif-function-HA010047433.aspx NOTE: Take Sample Test 1 (Password: 2EZ2cu!) multiple times - this should help you quite a bit. Be sure to review your results from the Sample Test to ensure that you thoroughly understand any Excel questions that you may have missed. Other useful Excel material includes Homework Assignment 1. Also review all of the related presentations slides and examples in the Course Documents folder. Tips for Tests 

Use the current release of Chrome, Firefox, IE or Safari to take tests given via Blackboard



Read instructions thoroughly before you begin the test and then each question carefully



If a dialog box is presented asking you to Run or install software, then click OK to do so



Scroll on through the questions initially, find an easy one to answer, then Save the test



Use the Edit > Find tab or Ctrl + F in any of the browsers to quickly search for specific text



Right click, then left click to enter data, text, or formula into a Fill-in-the-Blank or Essay



Use the Save button at the bottom of the test, not the one to the right of each question



Make an initial pass through the test in the first 30-45 minutes to answer those that you can



Do not get “wrapped around the axle” on a given question - simply move on to the next one



If you get stumped on a question, make an educated guess or use process of elimination



If you have any questions or issues during the test, ask your professor for assistance

* Note: You are strongly encouraged to use Excel software in solving any test problems * Instructions The following was copied from the Directions and Instructions that accompany an initial draft of Test 1. Keep in mind that these are preliminary in nature, so be sure to carefully read them again when opening up Test 1. This test is closed book, closed notes, and no Internet resources. You are strongly encouraged to use Excel and may copy your answers from Excel back into an answer space on the test in Blackboard to avoid making any typographical errors on a formula or value. It is anticipated that you will need at least an hour and fifteen minutes to complete this test, so time yourself accordingly. You cannot stop University of Louisville

College of Business


Page 6

in the middle and restart later. Test 1 contains nearly 30 questions related to Chapter 1 of the Management Information Systems textbook as well as the specified pages in MIS Chapters 3 and 8. These are primarily in multiple choice format with a few true / false thrown in. There are also about 30 questions pertaining to the Excel textbook - Chapters 1, 2 and 4. In your Excel responses, do not use a Defined Name for any table ranges or fixed cell references unless it was specified with the question text. While many of these questions are multiple choice, there will also be a few true / false, multiple answer, and fill in the blank questions, potentially including some with multiple parts that will need to be solved. There are no essay or short-answer format questions. A handful of Extra Credit questions primarily covering material from in-class discussions have also been thrown in - you should expect these to be a bit more challenging, so you might want to work on these only after responding to the other test questions. If you happen to get stuck on a question or portion thereof, simply move on and come back to it later on during the test. If after you come back to a question and are still stuck, it is a good idea to at least take a "best guess" at the question. Just remember that guessing on multiple answer questions should be done judiciously. Some credit may be awarded for partial responses on fill in the blank or multi-part format questions. Be sure to save your responses often during the test using the Save button at the bottom of the test. Make me aware of any technical issues (such as an error message while attempting to save your responses) that you may encounter while taking the test. You should review all of your responses before clicking on the Submit button at the bottom of the test. Good luck!


College of Business