Deleting a spreadsheet column

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. You want to remove a column of phone numbers from your spreadsheet completely. What do you do?

A Right-click the column header and choose Delete

B Select the cells and press the spacebar

2. After you choose Delete on a column, what happens to the data inside that column?

A It is kept safely in a hidden spot in the sheet

B It is removed from the spreadsheet with the column

3. You deleted the wrong column by mistake. What is the quickest fix?

A Press Ctrl+Z to undo the delete

B Close the spreadsheet and hope it comes back

4. Your sheet has a Name column, an Address column and a Phone column. You do not need Address or Phone. Which is a correct way to remove both?

A Select both column headers, right-click and choose Delete

B Delete only the first column, as the second goes automatically

5. Before you delete a column, what should you check?

A Whether the column header is a bright colour

B Whether any formulas use data from that column

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Right-click column header > Delete		ARemoves the whole column and all the data stored in it from the spreadsheet
2Ctrl+Z		BClick header C, hold Shift, click header D, right-click > Delete
3To get rid of two personal data columns, such as Phone and Address, select both headers together and delete them in one go		CUndoes the last action, so a column deleted by mistake comes back with its data
4After deleting a column, check any formula that used it, because it may now show an error		D=SUM(B2:D2) now shows #REF!
5Right-click column header > Hide		EHide only makes the column invisible. The personal data is still stored in the spreadsheet, so it has not been removed.
6Delete column C, then save and close without checking the other formulas		FFormulas that used column C may now show #REF! errors. Not checking them means the broken results go unnoticed.

Definitions

Delete column

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

Right-click a header, choose ______

Made a mistake? Press Ctrl+_ to undo it

Before: =SUM(B2:D2) After deleting column C: =SUM(B2:_2)

=B2+C2 after column C is deleted: _____

Click B, hold _____, click D, then Delete

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A Right-click the header of D

B Choose Delete

C Column D and its data go

D Press Ctrl+X to undo

Question 2

A Select column C header

B Right-click and choose Hide

C Check formulas that used C

Question 3

A Select headers of B and C

B Right-click the selection

C Choose Delete

D Only column B is removed

Question 4

A Right-click the row number

B Choose Delete

C The column and its data go

Question 5

A Total formula: =SUM(B2:D2)

B Delete row 3

C Formula now reads =SUM(B2:C2)

Answer Key

Deleting a spreadsheet column

Section A: Quick Questions

A — Right-click the column header and choose Delete

B — It is removed from the spreadsheet with the column

A — Press Ctrl+Z to undo the delete

A — Select both column headers, right-click and choose Delete

B — Whether any formulas use data from that column

Section B: Match the Pairs

Right-click column header > Delete → Removes the whole column and all the data stored in it from the spreadsheet

Ctrl+Z → Undoes the last action, so a column deleted by mistake comes back with its data

To get rid of two personal data columns, such as Phone and Address, select both headers together and delete them in one go → Click header C, hold Shift, click header D, right-click > Delete

After deleting a column, check any formula that used it, because it may now show an error → =SUM(B2:D2) now shows #REF!

Right-click column header > Hide → Hide only makes the column invisible. The personal data is still stored in the spreadsheet, so it has not been removed.

Delete column C, then save and close without checking the other formulas → Formulas that used column C may now show #REF! errors. Not checking them means the broken results go unnoticed.

Section C: Definitions

Delete column — Right-click a column header and choose Delete to remove the whole column and all its data. Undo with Ctrl+Z if it was a mistake, and check formulas that used the column.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

Right-click a header, choose Delete

Made a mistake? Press Ctrl+Z to undo it

Before: =SUM(B2:D2)
After deleting column C: =SUM(B2:C2)

=B2+C2 after column C is deleted: #REF!

Click B, hold Shift, click D, then Delete

Section E: Spot the Error

D — Ctrl+X cuts, it does not undo. Press Ctrl+Z to bring the deleted column back.

B — Hide only covers the column up, so the data is still stored. To remove the column and its data, choose Delete.

D — Both selected columns are deleted at once. The line should say that columns B and C are removed.

A — Right-clicking a row number gives row options, so it would delete a row. To delete a column, right-click the column header.

B — The formula only shrinks to B2:C2 when a column inside its range is deleted. The step should be Delete column C, not a row.