• Click on Start, select Programs, and the click on Microsoft Excel.

Save Excel Worksheet:

• Click on File on the Menu Toolbar, then select Save As to open the Save As dialog box.
• Navigate to your folder in the Save In text box by clicking the down pointing arrow.
• Name the Excel Worksheet by clicking in the File Name text box, and then typing the files name "Ten Worst Storms."
• Click OK to close the Save As dialog box.

Change the Page Setup to Landscape:

• Click on file on the Menu Toolbar, and then select page setup to open the Page Setup dialog box.. 
• With the Page Tab selected, Choose landscape by clicking in the radio button.
• Click OK. 

Setting up the Worksheet:

You will now begin setting up your worksheet for the data you will enter later. Do not change the size of cell A1. You will use the merge cell feature to center it on your worksheet.  You will go back later and format, position, and add formulas once we have entered the text.  

To Bold Text:

• Select the text by holding down your left mouse and dragging over it.
• Click the bold button on the formatting toolbar.

  To Center Text:

• Select the text by holding down your left mouse and dragging over it.
• Click the center alignment button on the formatting toolbar.

Don't worry about the first row for now. However, you will need to alter the first column in order to widen the cells in order to hold the location information you will be entering. Click on the line between the A and B column until you see crosshairs appear. (Make sure that you are at the top of the column). Drag column A to your right about three cell lengths.

The rest of the cells should be all right the way they are because the inputted data is not as lengthy as the location data. Click the link below to open a webpage with the storm data you will need to fill in your worksheet.

Ten Worst Storm Data

Scroll down to the The 10 Deadliest Hurricanes heading. You will now enter the data in its columns in the Worksheet. If the data goes beyond the cell width, repeat the above steps to expand the cell width.

You will now enter formulas to determine the minimum and maximum range for deaths, category, and winds. Enter the following in the Worksheet where indicated:

You will now enter the minimum and maximum functions into the following cells. You will use the function wizard option to enter the data. Click in the cell you want to enter the formula, the first one will be cell C15. Follow the steps below to enter your first formula:

• Click in cell E14.
• Click the function wizard button . This will open the Paste Function dialog box.
• Under the Function Category list, select All.
• Under the Function Name list, select MIN from the choices.
• Click OK to close the Paste Function dialog box.

• The MIN dialog opens. Click in the Number 1 text box and type in the first cell you want the results to be compare with.

  • In this case we want the program to start looking at the data in column E. The first set of data you want to compare starts in row E4 and the last data to compare is in row E13. In the Number 1 text box, type E4:E13 to indicate the data span you want to use.

  

• Click OK to close the MIN function dialog box. The lowest number should now appear in cell E14.

Click in Cell E15 to enter the MAX function similar to the steps above:

Having the average can be helpful when comparing information. Click in Cell E16 to enter the AVERAGE function similar to the steps above:

Continue entering the MIN, MAX, and AVERAGE functions for the categories and winds columns following the above steps. Make sure you choose the cells that contain the data you wish to compare.

Merging the Title:

After you have entered all your information, you will need to merge and center your title in the chart. To merge these cell:

• Place your cursor in A1, hold down the left mouse, and then drag while still holding the mouse to cell E1.
• Click the merge cells button on the Formatting Toolbar.
• Your title should appear centered in the top row of your worksheet.
• Bold the title.

Creating Charts and Graphs:

Now you will create a few charts that will make your information visually appealing. You will actually use one of these in your newspaper column. The three charts you will create are:

1. Death Comparison
2. Category Comparison

• In order to compare information graphically, you must choose the data to reflect in our graphs. You want to compare the death rates of all ten storms.
• To select the data, place you cursor in cell E4, press the left mouse button, and drag to select all the cells to E13.
• Click the Chart Wizard button on the standard toolbar to view the first Chart Wizard dialog box.
• Chart Type - Choose the Chart type and the Chart subtype if necessary. Click Next.

• Chart Source Data - Select the data range (if different from the area highlighted in step 1) and click Next.

• Chart Options - Enter the name of the chart (Death Rates of the Ten Worst Storms) and titles for the X- and Y-axes. X axes would be Storms by Number and the Y axes would be Number of Deaths. Other options for the axes, grid lines, legend, data labels, and data table can be changed by clicking on the tabs. Press Next to move to the next set of options.

• Chart Location - Click As new sheet if the chart should be placed on a new, blank worksheet or select As object in if the chart should be embedded in an existing sheet and select the worksheet from the drop-down menu. Choose As object in.

• Click Finish to create the chart.

  Resizing the Chart

  To resize the chart, click on its border and drag any of the nine black handles to change the size. Handles on the corners will resize the chart proportionally while handles along the lines will stretch the chart.

Moving the Chart

Select the border of the chart, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the chart to a new location. Elements within the chart such as the title and labels may also be moved within the chart. Click on the element to activate it, and use the mouse to drag the element to move it.

Chart Formatting Toolbar

Chart Objects List

To select an object on the chart to format, click the object on the chart or select the object from the Chart Objects List and click the Format button. A window containing the properties of that object will then appear to make formatting changes.

Chart Type

Click the arrowhead on the chart type button to select a different type of chart. Legend Toggle - Show or hide the chart legend by clicking this toggle button.

Data Table view

Display the data table instead of the chart by clicking the Data Table toggle button.

Display Data by Column or Row

Charts the data by columns or rows according to the data sheet.

Angle Text

Select the category or value axis and click the Angle Downward or Angle Upward button to angle the the selected by +/- 45 degrees.

Copying the Chart to Microsoft Word

A finished chart can be copied into a Microsoft Word document. Select the chart and click Copy. Open the destination document in Word and click Paste.

Save your worksheet with the same name.