Holiday Gift Tax Charting Extra Credit Activities

Congratulations on completing your holiday gift tax spreadsheet. As an extension of your excellent work, your teachers would like you to chart your gift expenses in a way that visually shows the percentage of the $5000 you spent on each gift.

1. Start Microsoft Excel and open your GIFTTAX file.

Creating Your Holiday Gift Expense Percentages Chart

1. Highlight the cells containing your dollars paid for each gift in the Amount Paid column. DO NOT include the column sum at the bottom of your data.
2. Find the Chart Wizard tool on the standard toolbar (the one that starts with the New button.)
3. Click on the Chart Wizard tool.
4. You may use the Office Assistant ( Mr. Paperclip...) to help you create your chart if you wish. If you don't need his help, go for it.
5. Choose a pie chart type to visually represent your data.
6. Click on Next.
7. On the Series tab, give your chart a title by typing Holiday Gift Expense Percentages in the Name field.
8. Click on Next.
9. Click on the Legend tab, choose whether you will show your legend or not.
10. Click on the Data Labels tab and select Show Percent.
11. Decide whether you want to show the legend keys or leader lines.
12. Click on Next.
13. Place the chart as an object in Sheet 1.
14. Click on Finish.
15. Click and drag the chart object below your last data row. The chart should not cover any part of the spreadsheet data.
16. Resize the chart so that all percentages are easily read.
17. If you don't like the results, try again until you get a chart that you like.

Creating Your Dallas vs. Lewisville Purchase Percentages Chart

1. Click on cell J1 and type Dallas
2. Click on cell K1 and type Lewisville
3. Click on cell J2 and type the total number of Dallas gifts you purchased.
4. Click on cell K2 and type the total number of Lewisville gifts you purchased.
5. Highlight the cells from J1 to K2
6. Click on the Chart Wizard tool.
7. Choose a pie chart type to visually represent your data.
8. Click on Next.
9. Click on Next.
10. Click on the Title tab and in the Chart Title box, type Dallas vs. Lewisville Purchase Percentages.
11. Click on the Legend tab, choose to show your legend at the bottom.
12. Click on the Data Labels tab and select Show Label and Percent.
13. Show the legend keys and the leader lines.
14. Click on Next.
15. Place the chart as an object in Sheet 1.
16. Click on Finish.
17. Click and drag the chart object below your first pie chart. The chart should not cover any part of the spreadsheet data or the first chart.
18. Resize the chart so that all percentages are easily read.

Call a teacher to check your work... 

After you have printed, answer the questions below on the back of your printed gift tax sheet.

1. What city did you purchase most of your goods in?
2. What is the tax rate for that city?
3. Did you save money by making most of your purchases in that city?
4. Are there other formulas or methods you could have used to calculate taxes?
5. Which method do you prefer? Explain.
6. Where else do we use proportions and or percentages in real life? Hint: Think about taxes, mark up, discounts, and sale prices…

On a separate sheet of paper if needed, in paragraph form:

1. Explain what you liked and disliked about this project.
2. How and when do we use this in real life?
3. What are the benefits?
4. How could this project be improved if given the opportunity to do this again?
5. If you were given the assignment to reconstruct or rewrite this project, what would you change? Add? Delete?

For more information about this lesson, please contact Jeff Skelton, Computer Literacy Teacher, Lewisville ISD