{"id":15426,"date":"2022-07-08T11:10:02","date_gmt":"2022-07-08T18:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/?p=15426"},"modified":"2025-03-21T08:40:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T15:40:56","slug":"i-get-error-messages-when-i-try-to-use-the-excel-spreadsheet-provided-for-the-mapping-electric-potentials-lab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/15426","title":{"rendered":"I get error messages when I try to use the Excel spreadsheet provided with the Mapping Electric Potential lab"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">Experiment 8 \u2013 &#8220;Mapping Electric Potential&#8221; from <em>Advanced Physics with Vernier\u2014Beyond Mechanics<\/em> was updated with the release of the 4<sup>th<\/sup> Edition of the book. You can access the most recent editions for any Vernier books your school owns from your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/3859\/\">Vernier web account<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/experiment\/phys-abm-8_mapping-electric-potential\/\">Mapping Electric Potentials<\/a> activity from our lab manual <a href=\"\/product\/advanced-physics-with-vernier-beyond-mechanics\/\"><i>Advanced Physics with Vernier \u2014 Beyond Mechanics<\/i><\/a> (<nobr>PHYS-ABM<\/nobr>) is set up for students to collect electric potential measurements and enter them into an Excel spreadsheet (available below). Excel then uses that electric potential data to create 2D and 3D plots of the electric field.<\/p>\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kb-btns15426_e2616e-a442{gap:var(--global-kb-gap-xs, 0.5rem );justify-content:center;align-items:center;}.kt-btns15426_e2616e-a442 .kt-button{font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;}.kt-btns15426_e2616e-a442 .kt-btn-wrap-0{margin-right:5px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_e2616e-a442 .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button{color:#ffffff;background:#007377;border-color:#007377;border-style:solid;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_e2616e-a442 .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button:hover, .wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_e2616e-a442 .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button:focus{color:#ffffff;border-color:#f79b2e;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_e2616e-a442 .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button::before{display:none;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_e2616e-a442 .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button:hover, .wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_e2616e-a442 .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button:focus{background:#f79b2e;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn kb-buttons-wrap kb-btns15426_e2616e-a442\">\n<style>ul.menu .wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn .kb-btn15426_823871-7d43.kb-button{width:initial;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn .kb-btn15426_823871-7d43.kb-button{color:#ffffff;background:#33a3aa;text-transform:capitalize;box-shadow:1px 1px 2px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn .kb-btn15426_823871-7d43.kb-button:hover, .wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn .kb-btn15426_823871-7d43.kb-button:focus{color:#ffffff;background:#f79b2e;}<\/style>\n<p><a class=\"kb-button kt-button button kb-btn15426_823871-7d43 kt-btn-size-standard kt-btn-width-type-auto kb-btn-global-fill kt-btn-has-text-true kt-btn-has-svg-true wp-block-kadence-singlebtn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Electric-Potential-Mapping-Template.xls\"><span class=\"kb-svg-icon-wrap kb-svg-icon-fe_download kt-btn-icon-side-left\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"  fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"  aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M21 15v4a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H5a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-4\"\/><polyline points=\"7 10 12 15 17 10\"\/><line x1=\"12\" y1=\"15\" x2=\"12\" y2=\"3\"\/><\/svg><\/span><span class=\"kt-btn-inner-text\">1st Edition Excel Template File<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kb-btns15426_88a6d4-dc{gap:var(--global-kb-gap-xs, 0.5rem );justify-content:center;align-items:center;}.kt-btns15426_88a6d4-dc .kt-button{font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;}.kt-btns15426_88a6d4-dc .kt-btn-wrap-0{margin-right:5px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_88a6d4-dc .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button{color:#ffffff;background:#007377;border-color:#007377;border-style:solid;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_88a6d4-dc .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button:hover, .wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_88a6d4-dc .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button:focus{color:#ffffff;border-color:#f79b2e;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_88a6d4-dc .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button::before{display:none;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_88a6d4-dc .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button:hover, .wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_88a6d4-dc .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button:focus{background:#f79b2e;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn kb-buttons-wrap kb-btns15426_88a6d4-dc\">\n<style>ul.menu .wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn .kb-btn15426_6f0b2b-83.kb-button{width:initial;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn .kb-btn15426_6f0b2b-83.kb-button{color:#ffffff;background:#33a3aa;text-transform:capitalize;box-shadow:1px 1px 2px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn .kb-btn15426_6f0b2b-83.kb-button:hover, .wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn .kb-btn15426_6f0b2b-83.kb-button:focus{color:#ffffff;background:#f79b2e;}<\/style>\n<p><a class=\"kb-button kt-button button kb-btn15426_6f0b2b-83 kt-btn-size-standard kt-btn-width-type-auto kb-btn-global-fill kt-btn-has-text-true kt-btn-has-svg-true wp-block-kadence-singlebtn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ElectricPotentialPlotter.xlsx\"><span class=\"kb-svg-icon-wrap kb-svg-icon-fe_download kt-btn-icon-side-left\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"  fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"  aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M21 15v4a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H5a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-4\"\/><polyline points=\"7 10 12 15 17 10\"\/><line x1=\"12\" y1=\"15\" x2=\"12\" y2=\"3\"\/><\/svg><\/span><span class=\"kt-btn-inner-text\">4th Edition Excel Template File<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"593\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-08-at-11.05.57-AM-edited.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15431\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Example Electric Potential 3D Plot in Excel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Problem<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some Excel settings can prevent the spreadsheet from interpolating electric potential correctly. A common error warns of &#8220;circular&#8221; references. Another error is having the #VALUE error in some or all of the interpolated cells.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"921\" height=\"159\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/image001.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23998\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/image001.png 921w, https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/image001-600x104.png 600w, https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/image001-768x133.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 921px) 100vw, 921px\" \/><\/figure>\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Resolving the Issue<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are some things to check when you see this.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Check the &#8220;Enable iterative calculation&#8221; box found in the File &gt;Options &gt;Formulas menu. This feature gets you past the circular errors message, since it allows Excel to perform the calculation successive times until it reaches a solution. This feature was &#8220;on&#8221; by default in earlier versions of Excel but isn&#8217;t necessarily &#8220;on&#8221; in later versions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Be careful that the cells are populated only by numbers, formatted as such or as &#8220;general&#8221; cells. If you mistype even one cell \u2013 say, type 2,35 instead of 2.35, which causes the cell format to be set to &#8220;text&#8221; \u2013 the spreadsheet propagates the #VALUE error across the interpolated cells. (<strong>Note:<\/strong> it appears, the &#8220;undo&#8221; button won&#8217;t undo the cell format change). <br \/>If this has happened, open a new template file and copy\/paste your data into it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An Alternative to using Excel<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you continue to have problems using the Excel spreadsheet, the 4th Edition includes a version of instructions that uses a VPython file<strong><sup>*<\/sup><\/strong> for generating the 2D and 3D plots.<\/p>\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kb-btns15426_cf30e9-d4{gap:var(--global-kb-gap-xs, 0.5rem );justify-content:center;align-items:center;}.kt-btns15426_cf30e9-d4 .kt-button{font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;}.kt-btns15426_cf30e9-d4 .kt-btn-wrap-0{margin-right:5px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_cf30e9-d4 .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button{color:#ffffff;background:#007377;border-color:#007377;border-style:solid;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_cf30e9-d4 .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button:hover, .wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_cf30e9-d4 .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button:focus{color:#ffffff;border-color:#f79b2e;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_cf30e9-d4 .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button::before{display:none;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_cf30e9-d4 .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button:hover, .wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn.kt-btns15426_cf30e9-d4 .kt-btn-wrap-0 .kt-button:focus{background:#f79b2e;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn kb-buttons-wrap kb-btns15426_cf30e9-d4\">\n<style>ul.menu .wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn .kb-btn15426_84105e-b1.kb-button{width:initial;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn .kb-btn15426_84105e-b1.kb-button{color:#ffffff;background:#33a3aa;text-transform:capitalize;box-shadow:1px 1px 2px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);}.wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn .kb-btn15426_84105e-b1.kb-button:hover, .wp-block-kadence-advancedbtn .kb-btn15426_84105e-b1.kb-button:focus{color:#ffffff;background:#f79b2e;}<\/style>\n<p><a class=\"kb-button kt-button button kb-btn15426_84105e-b1 kt-btn-size-standard kt-btn-width-type-auto kb-btn-global-fill kt-btn-has-text-true kt-btn-has-svg-true wp-block-kadence-singlebtn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ElectricPotentialPlotter.html\"><span class=\"kb-svg-icon-wrap kb-svg-icon-fe_download kt-btn-icon-side-left\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"  fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"  aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M21 15v4a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H5a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-4\"\/><polyline points=\"7 10 12 15 17 10\"\/><line x1=\"12\" y1=\"15\" x2=\"12\" y2=\"3\"\/><\/svg><\/span><span class=\"kt-btn-inner-text\">4th Edition vPython File<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><sup>*<\/sup><\/strong> The VPython file runs in a browser and does not require any software or app installation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"845\" height=\"612\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Screenshot-2025-03-21-075308.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Screenshot-2025-03-21-075308.png 845w, https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Screenshot-2025-03-21-075308-600x435.png 600w, https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/Screenshot-2025-03-21-075308-768x556.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 845px) 100vw, 845px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Example Electric Potential 3D Plot in VPython<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"has-very-light-gray-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Note: <\/strong>Data collected following the 1st Edition instructions can not be used as-is with the 4th Edition files. This is because the 4th Edition lab has students collect data from fewer points on the grid.<\/p>\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Additional Links<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/2504\/\">How do I create an account on the Vernier website?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/3859\/\">How do I access my lab books from my account on the Vernier website?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Experiment 8 \u2013 &#8220;Mapping Electric Potential&#8221; from Advanced Physics with Vernier\u2014Beyond Mechanics was updated with the release of the 4th Edition of the book. You&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100811,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[7635,7634,7361,4202],"class_list":["post-15426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-circular","tag-electric-potential-mapping","tag-excel","tag-phys-abm"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100811"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15426\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}