Which function would you use to calculate the average value in a range of cells?

To calculate the average value in a range of cells, the most appropriate function is AVERAGE. This function sums up all the numbers within the specified range and then divides that total by the count of those numbers. Hence, it provides the mean value, which is commonly sought when determining an average.

When using AVERAGE, you ensure that you're assessing the central tendency of a data set, which is useful in various analyses, such as finding typical scores, measurements, or other numeric data. This function is essential in spreadsheet software to streamline calculations without manually adding values and dividing them, which can be prone to errors.

Other functions such as SUM focus solely on total values instead of an average, MEDIAN provides a middle value rather than the mean, and COUNT counts the number of entries but does not relate to their average value. Thus, AVERAGE is the most accurate choice for the task of finding the average in a range of cells.