Excel is a popular computer program designed to process large arrays of numerical data. Its prevalence is due, among other things, to a large number of various mathematical functions that automatically calculate the required indicator.
Purpose of the AVERAGE function
The main role of the AVERAGE function, implemented in Excel, is to calculate the average value within a given numeric array. Such a function can be useful to the user in a variety of situations. For example, it is convenient to use it to analyze the price level for a particular type of product, calculate the average socio-demographic indicators in a certain group of people, or other similar goals.
In most versions of Excel, the average calculated from a specific numeric array is interpreted as the arithmetic average of all the numbers included in that array. In turn, the arithmetic mean, in accordance with the definition accepted in mathematics, is understood as the total sum of all considered values, divided by their number.
For example, an analyst is tasked with calculating the average age of students in a small English language group of only six. Moreover, among them are people who are 19, 24, 32, 46, 49 and 52 years old. In order to calculate the arithmetic mean of the age for this group, you must first find the sum of their ages, which will be 222 years, and then divide by the number of participants in the group, that is, by six people. As a result, it turns out that the average age of the members of this class is 37 years.
Using the AVERAGE function
Calculating the average value in Excel using the AVERAGE function is quite simple: to do this, you need to set the program to the data range for which the calculation will be made. There are two main ways to set the required range - using the program interface or by manually entering the appropriate formula.
So, to use the function using the interface in the "Functions" section, you need to find the AVERAGE function among those starting with the letter "C", since in the general list they are sorted alphabetically. By selecting this function, you will call the appearance of a menu in which the program will prompt you to enter a range for calculation. This can be done by selecting the required cells in the Excel table with the mouse. If you need to select several cells or groups of cells that are at a distance from each other, hold down the CTRL key. As a result of executing this function, the average value will appear in the cell selected to display the results.
The second way is to manually enter the formula for the calculation. In this case, in the command line, just like for other formulas, enter the "=" sign, then the name of the AVERAGE function, and then, in brackets, the range of required data. For example, if they are arranged in a column and occupy cells from F1 to F120, the function will look like = AVERAGE (F1: F120). In this case, the range of data that follows each other continuously, as in this example, is denoted by a colon, and if the data is at a distance from each other - by a semicolon. For example, if you need to calculate the average over only two cells - F1 and F24, the function will take the form = AVERAGE (F1; F24).
