Find the overdue laptops
A school has 600 laptop loans in a spreadsheet. The head asks, "Which laptops are out for more than a week?"
You do not read 600 rows. You sort the table and filter it. The answer appears in seconds.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can sort a table on a field and filter it to show only the rows I need.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Field | one column of a table, such as days |
| Key field | a field whose value is different in every row |
| Sort | put the rows in order by a field |
| Ascending | smallest or A first |
| Descending | largest or Z first |
| Filter | show only the rows that meet a condition |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Starter
Have a go
Starter
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Sorting puts rows in order
To sort, you choose a field. The rows move so that field is in order. Ascending goes from smallest to largest. Descending goes the other way.
Sort on two fields to break ties. Sort by days, then by name. Rows with the same days are then in name order.
The key field is the field that is different in every row, such as an asset tag. Records are often ordered by the key field.
Worked example: sort by days, then name
| Before: name | days | After: name | days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bo | 7 | Amy | 3 |
| Amy | 3 | Cy | 5 |
| Di | 7 | Bo | 7 |
| Cy | 5 | Di | 7 |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Check
Have a go
Check
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.