What does the IF function allow you to do?

The IF function provides a way to evaluate a condition and return one value if that condition is met (true) and another value if it is not met (false). This functionality is vital for decision-making in Excel, as it allows users to create dynamic outputs based on different scenarios. For example, if you wanted to determine if a student has passed or failed based on their score, you could use the IF function to return "Passed" for scores above a certain threshold and "Failed" for scores below that threshold. This capability to implement logical tests and produce variable outputs is what makes the IF function a powerful tool for data analysis and management in Excel.

The other options describe different functionalities that Excel offers but do not accurately capture what the IF function specifically does. Summarizing data or performing calculations across an entire dataset involves different functions and methodologies, while checking for errors relates to error handling functions, all of which serve distinct purposes in Excel usage.