To answer this question, let's go through each option to determine which aggregate functions are valid on the START_DATE column:
Option A) SUM(start_date) - The SUM function is used to calculate the sum of numerical values. However, the START_DATE column is of type DATE, not a numerical value. Therefore, this option is incorrect.
Option B) AVG(start_date) - The AVG function is used to calculate the average of numerical values. Since the START_DATE column is of type DATE, this option is incorrect.
Option C) COUNT(start_date) - The COUNT function is used to count the number of rows or non-null values in a column. This function is valid for the START_DATE column since it counts the number of occurrences of the column values. Therefore, this option is correct.
Option D) AVG(start_date, end_date) - The AVG function calculates the average of numerical values. However, in this option, there are two columns provided (START_DATE and END_DATE), which is not valid for the AVG function. Therefore, this option is incorrect.
Option E) MIN(start_date) - The MIN function is used to find the minimum value in a column. Since the START_DATE column is of type DATE, this option is valid.
Option F) MAXIMUM(start_date) - The MAXIMUM function is not a valid aggregate function in SQL. Therefore, this option is incorrect.
The correct answers are C) COUNT(start_date) and E) MIN(start_date) because both functions are valid for the START_DATE column.