SheetsLessons
Lesson 3 · Basics

AVERAGE Function

Practice the AVERAGE function in Google Sheets: averages across rows and columns, and how blank cells are handled.

Task 1 of 3

What is the class average? Put it in D2.

D2
fx

Tip: while typing a formula, click a cell or drag across cells to insert references. Press Enter to check, and Tab to accept a function suggestion.

Finding the mean with AVERAGE

AVERAGE adds the numbers you give it and divides by how many there are.

=AVERAGE(value1, [value2, ...])

Blank cells and text inside a range are ignored. They don't count as zero. That's usually what you want: an empty "not yet recorded" cell shouldn't drag the average down. If you do want blanks counted as zero, fill them with 0.

AVERAGE works across a row just as well as down a column: =AVERAGE(B2:D2).

Watch out: if a range has no numbers at all, AVERAGE returns #DIV/0!.