Negative numbers

[Mommio2]

Hi! I am a K through 8th computer teacher. (That doesn't mean I am an
expert - it just means that I am able to stay one step ahead of the kids!)
Today, I did an Excel project with my 6th, 7th, and 8th graders where they
created a simple integer calculator. I wanted them to learn how to put in
formulas and functions. When I tried this at home, it worked perfectly.
Likewise, it worked great on most of our lab computers (all with Office
2002), but some of the machines had trouble with negative numbers.
Specifically, when we tried to divide, for instance, -10 by 5, the divisor,
dividend, and quotient all changed to #####. It only happened when we used
the minus sign. I have to believe that this is some option or setting that
needs to be changed on only these computers, since it worked so well on all
the others. Any suggestions you can give me would be REALLY appreciated, as
we are finishing the project next week. Thanks!
Mommio

 

[Dave Peterson]

First thing I'd look at is the formula and what's in the cells it points at.

If you divide by 0, and your column is too skinny, you can see these ####.

The next thing I'd look for is the format of the cell (Format|Cells|Number tab.
Make sure it was set to General or Number. (Not a Time format.)

Then if it was formatted as Number, how many decimal places was supposed to show
up. If the column isn't wide enough, you'll get those ####'s, too.

(Maybe the first thing you should do is just try widening the column.)

 

[Mommio2]

Thanks! Can't wait to try that when I am back at school!