Key Stage 3 (KS3) Spreadsheet Modelling Practice Test

The COUNTA function serves the purpose of counting all non-empty cells within a specified range. This means it tallies any cell that contains data, regardless of the type of data entered, whether it is text, numbers, or even an error.

This ability to count non-empty cells is particularly useful in situations where you need to record or analyze data without limiting yourself strictly to numerical entries. For instance, if you want to find out how many responses you've received on a survey that includes both text and numbers, COUNTA will give you the total count of all responses.

The other options highlight different counting mechanisms which do not align with the specific function of COUNTA. For example, counting total cells in a range does not differentiate between empty and filled cells, while counting the number of numerical cells would only consider cells containing numeric data. Lastly, counting only empty cells is contrary to what COUNTA provides, as it focuses on counting those that contain any form of data.