Which operation allows you to find the maximum value in a range?

The operation that allows you to find the maximum value in a range is the MAX() function. This function is widely used in Excel to return the highest number from a specified set of values.

When you use MAX(), you simply provide a range of cells as an argument, and it evaluates all the numeric values in that range to determine the largest one. This function is not only straightforward to use but is a fundamental part of data analysis in Excel, making it incredibly valuable for anyone working with numerical data.

The other choices provided do not correspond to any standard Excel functions for finding the maximum value. For instance, HIGHEST(), TOP(), and MAXIMUM() are not recognized as valid function names in Excel, which is why they would not yield the desired result when trying to find the maximum value in a dataset. Understanding the correct use of functions like MAX() is essential for efficiently analyzing data within Excel.