What function would you use to calculate the average of a range of numbers?

The function that is used to calculate the average of a range of numbers is AVERAGE. This function adds up all the values within the specified range and then divides that sum by the number of values in the range. It is specifically designed to provide the mean value, which is commonly used in statistical analysis to understand a central tendency among a set of data.

While other functions are also relevant in data analysis, they serve different purposes. For instance, the SUM function is used to total all the numbers in a range but does not calculate the average. The MEDIAN function finds the middle value in a list of numbers, which may differ significantly from the average, especially in data sets with extreme values. Lastly, the COUNT function only counts the number of entries in a range without any regard for the numerical value, making it unsuitable for calculating averages. Using AVERAGE is the most appropriate choice when the goal is to find an arithmetic mean.