Which tool in a spreadsheet is used to collect and analyze data?

Pivot tables are powerful features in spreadsheets designed specifically for summarizing, analyzing, and interpreting large sets of data. They allow users to reorganize and aggregate data quickly, enabling the exploration of different perspectives and insights within the data set. By dragging and dropping fields, users can manipulate the data to view summaries such as totals, averages, and counts without altering the original dataset.

The versatility of pivot tables makes them particularly useful for identifying trends, making comparisons, and examining relationships in the data. This function is invaluable in data analysis tasks, as it simplifies the process of extracting meaningful information from complex datasets, facilitating informed decision-making.

While data validation ensures that specific criteria are met when inputting data, charts visually represent data rather than analyze it. Formulas perform calculations on data but do not provide the same comprehensive analytical capability that pivot tables offer. Thus, pivot tables stand out as the primary tool for data collection and analysis in a spreadsheet context.