A word processor prepares a document. A spreadsheet calculates in cells. The two programs are not substitutes for each other.
The idea
A word processor is for text: letters, reports and notes. You can set a heading, align a paragraph, number pages, and check spelling. A header or a footer repeats on each page. Mail merge fills the same letter with a different name and address for each person, taken from a list. Those tools change how the document looks or who receives it. They do not do the arithmetic a budget needs.
A spreadsheet is a grid of cells. A cell has a column letter and a row number, such as B3. A formula starts with an equals sign and can refer to other cells. A function such as SUM adds a range. A relative reference changes when you copy the formula to another row. An absolute reference stays fixed, which you show by locking the column or the row. A chart turns the numbers into a picture. Use a spreadsheet when the question is about calculation. Use a word processor when the question is about a document.
The ICT tips guide sets out the papers, the practical, and the mistakes that cost marks. WASSCE ICT tips
What earns the marks
Name the program that fits the job before you name the tool. A letter is a word processor. A budget is a spreadsheet. A formula without the equals sign is text, and the cell will not calculate. SUM of an empty range is not a worked example: show the cells. If you copy a formula down a column, say whether the reference should move. Copying a locked reference when it should move, or the reverse, is a separate mark.
Practice questions
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
1Question 1
4 marks
(a) State one task you would do in a word processor rather than a spreadsheet. (1 mark)
(b) State one task you would do in a spreadsheet rather than a word processor. (1 mark)
(c) Give a reason for each choice. (2 marks)
Model answer
(a) Writing a letter to a school.
(b) Adding the cost of items in a budget.
(c) A letter is text, which a word processor is built for. A budget needs formulas that recalculate when a number changes, which a spreadsheet does.
Mark scheme
A document task, such as a letter or a report1 mark
A calculation task, such as a budget or a mark sheet1 mark
The letter is text, or the word processor formats documents1 mark
The spreadsheet calculates, or a formula updates when a number changes1 mark
2Question 2
3 marks
A cell shows the formula =B2+B3. B2 contains 40 and B3 contains 15. What value does the cell show, and what happens if B2 is changed to 50? (3 marks)
Model answer
The cell shows 55. If B2 becomes 50, the formula calculates again and shows 65.
Mark scheme
551 mark
The formula calculates again when B2 changes1 mark
651 mark
3Question 3
2 marks
What is mail merge used for? (2 marks)
Model answer
It produces many copies of the same letter, each with a different name or address taken from a list.
Mark scheme
The same letter or document is reused1 mark
A list supplies a different name, address or other detail for each copy1 mark
Practise ICT with Anna
More questions on this topic are inside glearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Why does a spreadsheet formula start with an equals sign?+
The equals sign tells the program to calculate. Without it, the cell stores the characters as text and does not add the numbers. =B2+B3 adds the two cells. B2+B3 without the sign does not.
When do I lock a cell reference?+
Lock it when the copied formula must keep using the same cell, such as a tax rate in one cell that every row needs. Leave it relative when each row should use its own numbers, such as that row's price and quantity. All WASSCE ICT past questions