KOffice 1.1 Beta 3 Review: Part 7
KSpread cont.
While a chemistry student at UC Berkeley, I had to do a thesis on
"The rate of DNA fragments migrating in different pH Buffer," which
required me to collect data and do statistical analysis.
I used to use Excel to
do the statistical analysis part. Now that I have KSpread, which is
free and
GPL'ed, I will see if I can use it to do statistical analysis.
Background info: My thesis involved cutting DNA into fragments and
allowing
them to migrate in a pH buffer. The buffer can range from 0 to 14 pH
or more,
commonly known as from acidic to basic. In order for the DNA fragments
to
migrate, an electric current is applied to the buffer.
I entered the data for each pH, and did statistical calculations for
the rate
of each pH. KSpread supports many statistical functions, but I only
used the
basic ones. In cell I13, I entered =sum(I6:I12). In cell I14,
I entered
=average(I6:I12). In cell I15, I entered
=stddev(I6:I12). This
gave me the respected sum, mean, and standard deviation for rate of
migration at
pH 9.
Click to enlarge:
When you click on "Insert"->"Math Expression ...", there is a list of
statistical functions you can use. KSpread includes the basic
functions. I
remembered in Excel I had to buy a plugin for error analysis.
Hopefully by the
time KOffice 1.1 is released, a plugin for error analysis will be
available.
After all the math, I wanted to add some spice to my
spreadsheet.
KSpread allows me to add comments to cells. To add a comment, select
I15,
right click, and choose "Add/Modify Comment ...". Once you add a
comment, you will
notice a red triangle on the upper right hand corner of the cell. If
you move
your mouse over the red triangle, you will see your comment.
Click to enlarge:
You can also add KWord parts to KSpread. Being able to add parts to
KSpread can help peers or teachers make comments to the data before the
final
submission.
Click to enlarge:
KSpread also has autocompletion.
Click to enlarge:
In part 8, I will import the spreadsheet that I've created into a KWord
document.
