What the Paper 3 spreadsheet task asks
Paper 3 is a practical exam on a computer. It lasts 2 hours 15 minutes and is worth 70 marks.
It has a spreadsheet task and a website task. You also use skills from topics 11 to 16, such as file management and proofing.
There is no internet or email. Cambridge gives you source files, such as a .csv file of data.
You prove your work with evidence: printouts or screenshots, often pasted into an evidence document.
?Why?The examiner never sees your screen. They only see your evidence. If a formula is not visible in a printout, it does not exist for them.
!Watch outPut your name, centre number and candidate number in the header or footer of every printout. Work with no name cannot be marked.
Cells, rows, columns and ranges
A spreadsheet is a grid. Columns have letters (A, B, C). Rows have numbers (1, 2, 3).
A cell is one box in the grid. Its cell reference is the column letter then the row number, like C3.
A range is a block of cells. Write the first cell, a colon, then the last cell. C3:C8 means C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 and C8.
A range can be a block: H3:I5 is 3 rows by 2 columns, so 6 cells.
e.g.ExampleThis sheet is used in every example in this topic.
Year 10 pupils at a Madrid school pay for a day trip to Segovia. The trip costs €40.00 (cell I7), plus a set lunch.
Columns A to G: one row per pupil.
H3:I5: the meal price table. M is meat, P is pasta, V is vegetarian.
H12:J13 holds a tutor table, shown in the HLOOKUP step.
?Why?Using one sheet all the way through means you can check every answer against the same numbers.
Import data and change the structure
Exam tasks often start with a .csv file. CSV means comma-separated values: plain text, one record per line, with commas between the fields.
When you open or import it, check that each field lands in its own column and the first row becomes the headings.
Insert rows or columns where the task says. Formulae that point to cells that move are updated for you.
Delete rows or columns the task does not need. Merge cells to make one wide cell, for example a title across A1:G1.
On a computer set to Spanish, the spreadsheet may expect ; between fields, because the comma is the decimal sign. If all the data lands in column A, use the import options and choose comma as the separator.
e.g.ExampleThe file trip.csv contains:
Name,Form,Paid
Ana,10A,46.50
Bruno,10B,30.00
Imported into a spreadsheet, it fills A1:C3. Names go in column A, forms in B, amounts in C.
!Watch outDo not merge cells inside the data list. Merged cells stop sorting and filtering from working. Merge only a title above the data.
Formulae and operators
A formula is a calculation in a cell. It always starts with =.
The cell shows the result. The formula stays underneath and recalculates when a cell it uses changes.
Use cell references, not typed numbers. Then the answer stays right when the data changes.
Comparison operators give TRUE or FALSE. They are used in IF, COUNTIF and filters.
!Watch outTyping =46.5+6.5 gives the right number today, but it is a hard-coded value. If a payment changes, the answer is wrong. Examiners give no mark for it.
Order of operations and brackets
Spreadsheets follow the same order as maths. Brackets first, then Indices (powers, ^), then Division and Multiplication, then Addition and Subtraction. You may know this as BIDMAS.
Division and multiplication have equal rank, so they are done left to right. Addition and subtraction work the same way.
Brackets force a part of the formula to be worked out first.
e.g.ExampleAverage of Ana's and Bruno's payments:
Wrong: =C3+C4/2 → 46.50 + (30.00 ÷ 2) = 46.50 + 15.00 = 61.50
Right: =(C3+C4)/2 → (46.50 + 30.00) ÷ 2 = 76.50 ÷ 2 = 38.25
With a power: =2+3*4^2 → 4^2 = 16, then 3 × 16 = 48, then 2 + 48 = 50
With brackets: =(2+3)*4^2 → 5 × 16 = 80
?Why?Without brackets the division happens before the addition. Only Bruno's payment is halved. The result, 61.50, is bigger than both payments, so it cannot be an average.
Relative references and replication
Replication means copying a formula into other cells. Usually you drag the fill handle (the small square at the corner of the cell) down or across.
A normal reference like E3 is a relative reference. It means "the cell in this position compared with me".
When you copy a formula down one row, every relative reference moves down one row too. Copy it across one column and they move one column.
This is why one formula can work for every row of a list.
e.g.ExampleSuppose F3 contains =E3-C3 (meal price minus amount paid).
Copied down to F4 → =E4-C4
Copied down to F8 → =E8-C8
Copied across to G3 → =F3-D3 (each column letter moves one to the right)
?Why?Each pupil's row has the same layout. A relative reference says "use my own row", so the same formula fits every pupil.
Absolute and mixed references ($)
Sometimes every row must use the same cell, such as the trip cost in I7. That reference must not move.
A $ sign locks the part after it. $I$7 is an absolute reference: column I and row 7 are both fixed.
A mixed reference locks only one part. $I7 fixes the column only. I$7 fixes the row only.
Try the toy: press Fill all and see E2 =D2*$F$1 keep F1 in every row. Then press Reset, tap $F$1 once so it becomes F1, and fill down again. Watch which references move and which stay.
e.g.ExampleF3: =$I$7+E3-C3 → 40.00 + 6.50 − 46.50 = 0.00
Copied to F4: =$I$7+E4-C4 → 40.00 + 7.50 − 30.00 = 17.50
Without $: F3 holds =I7+E3-C3. Copied to F4 it becomes =I8+E4-C4.
I8 is empty (0), so F4 shows 0 + 7.50 − 30.00 = −22.50. Wrong.
!Watch outLookup tables in VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP nearly always need $ signs too. Without them the table slides down as you copy, and lower rows show #N/A.
There is something to try for this step in the IGCSE library.