SIMnet Excel Practice Test

To determine how many cells in a specified range contain numerical values, the COUNT() function is the appropriate choice. This function scans through the given range and specifically counts only those cells that contain numbers, ignoring any blank cells or those containing non-numeric data such as text or errors.

The practicality of the COUNT() function arises in scenarios where you solely want to quantify numeric entries, making it efficient for tasks such as analyzing data sets that include statistical figures.

While other functions like COUNTA() count all non-empty cells, including those with text, and COUNTIF() counts based on specified criteria, they do not serve the specific purpose of counting only numerical entries within a range. Similarly, SUMIF() is used to sum values that meet a certain condition rather than count them, which further underscores why COUNT() is the right fit for counting the number of cells that contain numbers.