Which function would you use to find the average of a data set in Excel?

The function used to find the average of a data set in Excel is the AVERAGE function. This function specifically computes the mean of a range of numbers by summing the values and then dividing by the count of those values non-empty cells.

When applying AVERAGE, you simply select the range of cells containing the data you want to analyze. The result provides a meaningful measure of central tendency, allowing you to understand the typical value within your dataset. This is especially useful in various contexts, such as summarizing performance metrics, evaluating survey results, or analyzing financial data.

Other functions may be useful in Excel but serve different purposes. For instance, SUM is intended for adding up all numbers within a specified range, COUNT is used to tally the number of entries or cells that contain numbers, and MIN identifies the smallest value in a set. While these functions are valuable for different types of calculations, they do not calculate the average, which is the primary requirement of the question.