Excel Scientific and Engineering Cookbook

Given the improved analytical capabilities of Excel, scientists and engineers everywhere are using it--instead of FORTRAN--to solve problems. And why not? Excel is installed on millions of computers, features a rich set of built-in analyses tools, and includes an integrated Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming language. No wonder it's today's computing tool of choice.

Chances are you already use Excel to perform some fairly routine calculations. Now the Excel Scientific and Engineering Cookbook shows you how to leverage Excel to perform more complex calculations, too, calculations that once fell in the domain of specialized tools. It does so by putting a smorgasbord of data analysis techniques right at your fingertips. The book shows how to perform these useful tasks and others:

• Use Excel and VBA in general
  
• Import data from a variety of sources
  
• Analyze data
  
• Perform calculations
  
• Visualize the results for interpretation and presentation
  
• Use Excel to solve specific science and engineering problems

Wherever possible, the Excel Scientific and Engineering Cookbook draws on real-world examples from a range of scientific disciplines such as biology, chemistry, and physics. This way, you'll be better prepared to solve the problems you face in your everyday scientific or engineering tasks.

High on practicality and low on theory, this quick, look-up reference provides instant solutions, or "recipes," to problems both basic and advanced. And like other books in O'Reilly's popular Cookbook format, each recipe also includes a discussion on how and why it works. As a result, you can take comfort in knowing that complete, practical answers are a mere page-flip away.

 

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Using Excel

      1.1 Navigating the Interface  

      1.2 Entering Data  

      1.3 Setting Cell Data Types  

      1.4 Selecting More Than a Single Cell  

      1.5 Entering Formulas  

      1.6 Exploring the R1C1 Cell Reference Style  

      1.7 Referring to More Than a Single Cell  

      1.8 Understanding Operator Precedence  

      1.9 Using Exponents in Formulas  

      1.10 Exploring Functions  

      1.11 Formatting Your Spreadsheets  

      1.12 Defining Custom Format Styles  

      1.13 Leveraging Copy, Cut, Paste, and Paste Special  

      1.14 Using Cell Names (Like Programming Variables)  

      1.15 Validating Data  

      1.16 Taking Advantage of Macros  

      1.17 Adding Comments and Equation Notes  

      1.18 Getting Help  

2. Getting Acquainted with Visual Basic for Applications

      2.1 Navigating the VBA Editor  

      2.2 Writing Functions and Subroutines  

      2.3 Working with Data Types  

      2.4 Defining Variables  

      2.5 Defining Constants  

      2.6 Using Arrays  

      2.7 Commenting Code  

      2.8 Spanning Long Statements over Multiple Lines  

      2.9 Using Conditional Statements  

      2.10 Using Loops  

      2.11 Debugging VBA Code  

      2.12 Exploring VBA's Built-in Functions  

      2.13 Exploring Excel Objects  

      2.14 Creating Your Own Objects in VBA  

      2.15 VBA Help  

3. Collecting and Cleaning Up Data

      3.1 Importing Data from Text Files  

      3.2 Importing Data from Delimited Text Files  

      3.3 Importing Data Using Drag-and-Drop  

      3.4 Importing Data from Access Databases  

      3.5 Importing Data from Web Pages  

      3.6 Parsing Data  

      3.7 Removing Weird Characters from Imported Text  

      3.8 Converting Units  

      3.9 Sorting Data  

      3.10 Filtering Data  

      3.11 Looking Up Values in Tables  

      3.12 Retrieving Data from XML Files  

4. Charting

      4.1 Creating Simple Charts  

      4.2 Exploring Chart Styles  

      4.3 Formatting Charts  

      4.4 Customizing Chart Axes  

      4.5 Setting Log or Semilog Scales  

      4.6 Using Multiple Axes  

      4.7 Changing the Type of an Existing Chart  

      4.8 Combining Chart Types  

      4.9 Building 3D Surface Plots  

      4.10 Preparing Contour Plots  

      4.11 Annotating Charts  

      4.12 Saving Custom Chart Types  

      4.13 Copying Charts to Word  

      4.14 Displaying Error Bars  

5. Statistical Analysis

      5.1 Computing Summary Statistics  

      5.2 Plotting Frequency Distributions  

      5.3 Calculating Confidence Intervals  

      5.4 Correlating Data  

      5.5 Ranking and Percentiles  

      5.6 Performing Statistical Tests  

      5.7 Conducting ANOVA  

      5.8 Generating Random Numbers  

      5.9 Sampling Data  

6. Time Series Analysis

      6.1 Plotting Time Series Data  

      6.2 Adding Trendlines  

      6.3 Computing Moving Averages  

      6.4 Smoothing Data Using Weighted Averages  

      6.5 Centering Data  

      6.6 Detrending a Time Series  

      6.7 Estimating Seasonal Indices  

      6.8 Deseasonalization of a Time Series  

      6.9 Forecasting  

      6.10 Applying Discrete Fourier Transforms  

7. Mathematical Functions

      7.1 Using Summation Functions  

      7.2 Delving into Division  

      7.3 Mastering Multiplication  

      7.4 Exploring Exponential and Logarithmic Functions  

      7.5 Using Trigonometry Functions  

      7.6 Seeing Signs  

      7.7 Getting to the Root of Things  

      7.8 Rounding and Truncating Numbers  

      7.9 Converting Between Number Systems  

      7.10 Manipulating Matrices  

      7.11 Building Support for Vectors  

      7.12 Using Spreadsheet Functions in VBA Code  

      7.13 Dealing with Complex Numbers  

8. Curve Fitting and Regression

      8.1 Performing Linear Curve Fitting Using Excel Charts  

      8.2 Constructing Your Own Linear Fit Using Spreadsheet Functions  

      8.3 Using a Single Spreadsheet Function for Linear Curve Fitting  

      8.4 Performing Multiple Linear Regression  

      8.5 Generating Nonlinear Curve Fits Using Excel Charts  

      8.6 Fitting Nonlinear Curves Using Solver  

      8.7 Assessing Goodness of Fit  

      8.8 Computing Confidence Intervals  

9. Solving Equations

      9.1 Finding Roots Graphically  

      9.2 Solving Nonlinear Equations Iteratively  

      9.3 Automating Tedious Problems with VBA  

      9.4 Solving Linear Systems  

      9.5 Tackling Nonlinear Systems of Equations  

      9.6 Using Classical Methods for Solving Equations  

10. Numerical Integration and Differentiation

      10.1 Integrating a Definite Integral  

      10.2 Implementing the Trapezoidal Rule in VBA  

      10.3 Computing the Center of an Area Using Numerical Integration  

      10.4 Calculating the Second Moment of an Area  

      10.5 Dealing with Double Integrals  

      10.6 Numerical Differentiation  

11. Solving Ordinary Differential Equations

      11.1 Solving First-Order Initial Value Problems  

      11.2 Applying the Runge-Kutta Method to Second-Order Initial Value Problems  

      11.3 Tackling Coupled Equations  

      11.4 Shooting Boundary Value Problems  

12. Solving Partial Differential Equations

      12.1 Leveraging Excel to Directly Solve Finite Difference Equations  

      12.2 Recruiting Solver to Iteratively Solve Finite Difference Equations  

      12.3 Solving Initial Value Problems  

      12.4 Using Excel to Help Solve Problems Formulated Using the Finite Element Method  

13. Performing Optimization Analyses in Excel

      13.1 Using Excel for Traditional Linear Programming  

      13.2 Exploring Resource Allocation Optimization Problems  

      13.3 Getting More Realistic Results with Integer Constraints  

      13.4 Tackling Troublesome Problems  

      13.5 Optimizing Engineering Design Problems  

      13.6 Understanding Solver Reports  

      13.7 Programming a Genetic Algorithm for Optimization  

14. Introduction to Financial Calculations

      14.1 Computing Present Value  

      14.2 Calculating Future Value  

      14.3 Figuring Out Required Rate of Return  

      14.4 Doubling Your Money  

      14.5 Determining Monthly Payments  

      14.6 Considering Cash Flow Alternatives  

      14.7 Achieving a Certain Future Value  

      14.8 Assessing Net Present Worth  

      14.9 Estimating Rate of Return  

      14.10 Solving Inverse Problems  

      14.11 Figuring a Break-Even Point  

Index