Final answer:
Blank Cells do not affect the AVERAGE function.
Step-by-step explanation:
The item that does not affect the AVERAGE function is c. Blank Cells. When using the AVERAGE function in Excel or any other spreadsheet program, blank cells are ignored and do not influence the calculation. Percentages, decimals, and numbers, on the other hand, are all included in the calculation. The item that does not affect the AVERAGE function in a dataset is c. Blank Cells. The AVERAGE function calculates the mean of the numbers provided by adding them up and dividing by the count of the numbers. Percentages and decimals are considered numbers in this context and influence the average. However, blank cells are ignored by the AVERAGE function—they neither contribute to the sum nor to the count of the numbers.