5 Pivot Tables Free Online FlashCards

What is a pivot table?

A pivot table interactively summarizes a data table by grouping records and calculating values such as sums, counts, or averages.

What makes source data well structured for a pivot table?

Use one distinct header per column, one record per row, no merged cells or blank rows within the data, and consistent data types and entries.

What does the Rows area do?

Rows display categories down the left side of the summary, such as regions.

What do Sum, Count, Average, Minimum, and Maximum calculate?

Sum adds numeric values; Count counts nonempty entries; Average calculates the mean; Minimum and Maximum show the smallest and largest values.

What happens to source records when you rearrange pivot table fields?

Moving a field changes the summary’s layout or perspective, not the underlying records.

What does grouping do in a pivot table?

Grouping combines detailed items into broader categories, such as dates by month or ages in intervals.

What does a filtered pivot table total represent?

A filtered total describes only the records included by the active filters, not necessarily the whole dataset.

How can you check whether a pivot table result is dependable?

Check totals against the source data and confirm that displayed filters and groups fit the question being answered.

What may be needed after the source data changes?

Refresh or update the pivot table when its source data changes, if the spreadsheet does not update it automatically.

What does the Columns area do?

Columns display categories across the top of the summary, such as products.

What does the Values area specify?

Values specifies the summaries to calculate, such as the sum of sales or a count of records.

What is the purpose of the Filters area?

Filters limit which source records contribute to the summary, for example by year or region.