How to Use the Spreadsheet View in GeoGebra

GeoGebra has a built-in spreadsheet, which you can access by clicking Spreadsheet under View in Menu.

The individual boxes in a spreadsheet are called cells. Each cell can store both text and numbers. The cells are named according to their column name (letters) and row number. For example, the cell in the third column and the fourth row is called C4.

The calculations in Spreadsheet are done using formulas. These are the mathematical expressions themselves, but they need to be entered in a specific way, always starting with an equals sign =. You’ll learn how to use formulas in Item 4 below.

You can also use commands inside cells, but we’re not going to look at those in this entry. Instead, they’ll be reviewed in the GeoGebra entries for their respective topics.

GeoGebra Instruction 1

Calculations in `Spreadsheet` Using Formulas

1.: Open Spreadsheet under View in Menu so you can follow along with these instructions.
2.: When you want to do calculations in Spreadsheet, insert each of the numbers used in your calculations in an individual cell first. Say you want to compute $36 + 87$ . Enter 36 in cell A1, then enter 87 in cell A2.
3.: Type = in an empty cell, say A3. Then, type your calculation, but instead of entering the same numbers again, use the names of the cells where your numbers are. The contents of this cell now look like this:

=A1+A2

This is an example of a formula—specifically, the formula for adding the two numbers in cells A1 and A2. Press Enter when you’re done. The answer 123 should be displayed.
4.: The main advantage of typing your numbers individually in Spreadsheet, is that you can change the numbers in a cell, and the calculations using that number will update automatically. If you change the number 36 in cell A1 to 46 and press Enter, you’ll see that the number in cell A3 changes from 123 to 133. This is because the formula is set to add the numbers of cells A1 and A2, as mentioned earlier. So changing any of the numbers in the other cells, changes the sum as well.

Screenshot of GeoGebra showing a spreadsheet

GeoGebra Instruction 2

Displaying Formulas

By default, the formulas in the cells are hidden, and the cells instead show the results of computations given by the formulas. To display/hide formulas in Spreadsheet, press Ctrl+D on PC or Cmd+D on MAC.

Screenshot of GeoGebra showing a spreadsheet displaying formulas

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Calculations in Spreadsheet Using Formulas

Displaying Formulas

Calculations in `Spreadsheet` Using Formulas