Microsoft Excel Creating and Managing Charts 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which chart type best shows composition of a whole at a single point in time?
- Line chart
- Pie chart (Correct answer)
- Scatter plot
- Histogram
Correct answer: Pie chart
Pie charts show how parts contribute to a whole using proportional slices.
Best practices: no more than 6-7 slices, sort largest to smallest, use data labels. For many categories, bar charts are more effective.
Question 2: How do you add a secondary axis to an Excel chart?
- Right-click data series, Format Data Series, choose Secondary Axis (Correct answer)
- Use the Insert menu
- Double-click the chart title
- Not supported in Excel
Correct answer: Right-click data series, Format Data Series, choose Secondary Axis
Right-click the data series, choose Format Data Series, and select Secondary Axis.
Useful when series have different scales. You can also change the chart type for secondary axis series via Change Chart Type > Combo.
Question 3: What is a sparkline in Excel?
- A type of conditional formatting
- A tiny chart within a single cell showing data trends (Correct answer)
- An animated chart effect
- A chart template
Correct answer: A tiny chart within a single cell showing data trends
Sparklines are miniature charts that fit inside a single cell.
Three types: Line (trends), Column (comparisons), Win/Loss (positive/negative). Insert > Sparklines. They don't print by default.
Question 4: How do you create a dynamic chart title linked to a cell?
- Type the cell reference in the title
- Click the title, click formula bar, type = and click the cell (Correct answer)
- Use a macro
- Not possible in Excel
Correct answer: Click the title, click formula bar, type = and click the cell
Click the chart title, then use the formula bar to link it to a cell reference.
The title updates whenever the linked cell changes. This technique also works for axis titles and data labels.
Question 5: What is the purpose of error bars in charts?
- Highlighting incorrect data
- Displaying variability or uncertainty of data points (Correct answer)
- Showing when data exceeds boundaries
- Indicating formula errors
Correct answer: Displaying variability or uncertainty of data points
Error bars represent variability, uncertainty, or margin of error in data.
Options include Fixed Value, Percentage, Standard Deviation, Standard Error, or Custom values. Can show both or only positive/negative directions.
Question 6: Which chart shows the relationship between two numerical variables?
- Bar chart
- Pie chart
- Scatter (XY) chart (Correct answer)
- Area chart
Correct answer: Scatter (XY) chart
Scatter charts plot data points using X and Y coordinates to reveal relationships.
You can add trendlines (linear, exponential, polynomial, etc.) with R-squared values. Bubble charts extend scatter by adding bubble size as a third dimension.
Microsoft Excel Creating and Managing Charts 2
Which chart type best shows composition of a whole at a single point in time?