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Which Five SQL Built-in Functions Are Provided?

Which Five SQL Built-in Functions Are Provided?

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Sep 12, 2026

In SQL, the “built-in functions” most commonly tested as the five foundational aggregate functions are: keywordCOUNT, keywordSUM, keywordAVG, keywordMIN, and keywordMAX. These five compute a single summary result from multiple input rows (typically used with GROUP BY).3

From the options given, only (i) COUNT, SUM, AVG, MAX, MIN matches the standard set of these five aggregate functions.3

Footnotes

  1. PostgreSQL: Documentation: 18: 2.7. Aggregate Functions - Lists standard aggregates including count, sum, avg, max, min. ↩ ↩2

  2. SQL Aggregate Functions — SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX - Describes core aggregate functions and their behavior. ↩ ↩2

  3. SQL Aggregate Functions (W3Schools) - Lists commonly used aggregates: MIN, MAX, COUNT, SUM, AVG. ↩ ↩2

type="tip" title="Pro Tip" content="When answering multiple-choice questions about “the five built-in functions,” they usually refer to the core aggregate functions: COUNT, SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX—rather than arbitrary arithmetic/scalar names like MULT or NAME, which are not part of that core set.2"

Footnotes

  1. PostgreSQL: Documentation: 18: 2.7. Aggregate Functions - Lists standard aggregates including count, sum, avg, max, min. ↩

  2. SQL Aggregate Functions — SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX - Describes core aggregate functions and their behavior. ↩

Why the other options are incorrect

Option (ii) SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX, MULT

MULT is not one of the core SQL aggregate functions (COUNT, SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX). The standard aggregate list does not include MULT.3

Option (iii) SUM, AVG, MULT, DIV, MIN

DIV and MULT are not part of the standard aggregate function set either. Division and multiplication are typically operators (/, *) or scalar math functions depending on the SQL dialect, not named aggregates like MULT/DIV. (Also, the canonical five aggregates still do not include these names.)2

Option (iv) SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX, NAME

NAME is not a standard aggregate function. The “NAME” function is not part of the core five aggregates listed above.3

Footnotes

  1. PostgreSQL: Documentation: 18: 2.7. Aggregate Functions - Lists standard aggregates including count, sum, avg, max, min. ↩ ↩2

  2. SQL Aggregate Functions — SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX - Describes core aggregate functions and their behavior. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. SQL Aggregate Functions (W3Schools) - Lists commonly used aggregates: MIN, MAX, COUNT, SUM, AVG. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

How to identify the correct answer

  1. 1
    Step 1

    The question asks for “the five built-in functions provided by SQL.” In common curricula, this refers to the core aggregate functions used for summarizing rows.3

    Footnotes

    1. PostgreSQL: Documentation: 18: 2.7. Aggregate Functions - Lists standard aggregates including count, sum, avg, max, min. ↩

    2. SQL Aggregate Functions — SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX - Describes core aggregate functions and their behavior. ↩

    3. SQL Aggregate Functions (W3Schools) - Lists commonly used aggregates: MIN, MAX, COUNT, SUM, AVG. ↩

  2. 2
    Step 2

    The canonical five are COUNT(), SUM(), AVG(), MIN(), and MAX().3

    Footnotes

    1. PostgreSQL: Documentation: 18: 2.7. Aggregate Functions - Lists standard aggregates including count, sum, avg, max, min. ↩

    2. SQL Aggregate Functions — SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX - Describes core aggregate functions and their behavior. ↩

    3. SQL Aggregate Functions (W3Schools) - Lists commonly used aggregates: MIN, MAX, COUNT, SUM, AVG. ↩

  3. 3
    Step 3

    Check whether the option contains exactly {COUNT, SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX}. Only option (i) matches.3

    Footnotes

    1. PostgreSQL: Documentation: 18: 2.7. Aggregate Functions - Lists standard aggregates including count, sum, avg, max, min. ↩

    2. SQL Aggregate Functions — SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX - Describes core aggregate functions and their behavior. ↩

    3. SQL Aggregate Functions (W3Schools) - Lists commonly used aggregates: MIN, MAX, COUNT, SUM, AVG. ↩

  4. 4
    Step 4

    Options containing MULT, DIV, or NAME do not appear in the standard aggregate function list.3

    Footnotes

    1. PostgreSQL: Documentation: 18: 2.7. Aggregate Functions - Lists standard aggregates including count, sum, avg, max, min. ↩

    2. SQL Aggregate Functions — SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX - Describes core aggregate functions and their behavior. ↩

    3. SQL Aggregate Functions (W3Schools) - Lists commonly used aggregates: MIN, MAX, COUNT, SUM, AVG. ↩

Match of each option to the canonical five SQL aggregate functions

Score = how many of {COUNT, SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX} appear in the option.

Correct answer

✅ (i) COUNT, SUM, AVG, MAX, MIN3

Footnotes

  1. PostgreSQL: Documentation: 18: 2.7. Aggregate Functions - Lists standard aggregates including count, sum, avg, max, min. ↩

  2. SQL Aggregate Functions — SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX - Describes core aggregate functions and their behavior. ↩

  3. SQL Aggregate Functions (W3Schools) - Lists commonly used aggregates: MIN, MAX, COUNT, SUM, AVG. ↩

FAQ: What exactly are “aggregate functions” in SQL?

Knowledge Check

Question 1 of 4
Q1Single choice

Which set matches the five core SQL aggregate functions?

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