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Making Choices
Spreadsheet Instructions

Description: You are going to investigate the nutritional value of two foods. You will begin by choosing two foods that seem similar yet different (such as lowfat milk and soft drinks or whole wheat bread and donuts), research their nutritional value using print or electronic sources, and compare them. You will use a spreadsheet to create nutritional food label graphs.

Step 1
Choosing Food

Choose two foods that seem similar yet different and research their nutritional value using print or electronic sources.

Step 2
Creating a Worksheet in Spreadsheet Software

Open a worksheet in a spreadsheet application. In cell A1, type the title Nutritional Food Label Graphs. In row 3, beginning in cell A3, type the headings Daily, [name of your food choice], and [name of your second food choice]. In column A, beginning in cell A4, list all of the nutrients that you found for your foods (such as fat, protein, vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, and so forth).  




Step 3
Building a Chart

Use the Chart Wizard to produce a chart. Choose the chart type that best represents the data, such as a bar graph or column chart, and then work through the Chart Wizard. For example, to create a Column chart in Microsoft Excel* using the sample table shown earlier, follow these steps:

1. After you add data to the table, highlight cells A3 through C13.
2. Choose Chart on the Insert menu.
3. Click the Column chart type, and then click the Next button.
4. Click the Data Range tab, make sure Columns is selected next to Series In, and then click Next.
5. In step 3 of the Wizard (Chart Options), click the Titles tab.
6. Add titles for the chart and its axes.
7. Click the Gridlines tab, and experiment with gridline options.
8. Choose the gridline option that makes understanding your data easy.
9. Click the Legend tab, choose a location for the legend, and then click Next.
10. Place the chart as an object on the original worksheet, so you can see the worksheet entries while you examine the chart.

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