DA0-002 Data Governance Practice Question
A data analyst is creating a dashboard for executives to show monthly sales trends over the past year. Which chart type is most appropriate?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse 'showing trends over time' with 'comparing parts of a whole' and incorrectly select a stacked bar chart or pie chart, failing to recognize that line charts are the standard for time-series trend visualization.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Line chart
A line chart is the most appropriate choice because it excels at showing continuous data trends over time, such as monthly sales over a year. The x-axis represents the time dimension (months), and the y-axis represents sales values, allowing executives to easily identify upward or downward trends, seasonality, and inflection points. This aligns with the goal of communicating data insights clearly and effectively.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Stacked bar chart
Why it's wrong here
Stacked bars segment each month into sub-categories, so the total trend is obscured by the stacking and the executive question about monthly sales movement is harder to read. Stacking suits comparing category composition within each period, not a single trend line.
- ✗
Scatter plot
Why it's wrong here
A scatter plot shows correlation between two numeric variables, not a value ordered by time. It would suit testing whether advertising spend correlates with sales, but monthly sales over twelve periods need a line chart with time on the x-axis.
- ✓
Line chart
Why this is correct
A line chart plots continuous data points connected by lines, making it ideal for showing trends over time. Monthly sales across twelve months form a sequential time series, so the line's slope directly reveals growth or decline. This satisfies the stem's requirement to display monthly sales trends over the past year.
- ✗
Pie chart
Why it's wrong here
A pie chart encodes parts of a single whole, so twelve monthly values become unreadable slices and it cannot show a trend over time. It suits one period's category composition, such as quarterly revenue split by product line, not month-by-month movement.
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