DA0-002 Visualization and Reporting Practice Question
A sales analyst wants to show total sales by product category, with each category's contribution to the total. Which chart type is best?
⚠ Common exam trap
DA0-002 often tests the pie-chart-versus-stacked-bar confusion — candidates pick pie chart for 'contribution to total,' but pie charts can't show totals across multiple categories or support multi-level composition the way a stacked bar can.
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
✓
Stacked bar chart
A stacked bar chart shows each product category as a bar segment whose height represents its sales contribution, and the total bar height represents overall sales — simultaneously displaying both individual contributions and the whole. This directly satisfies the requirement to show total sales by category with each category's contribution.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Scatter plot
Why it's wrong here
A scatter plot positions points along two numeric axes to reveal correlation between paired continuous variables, so it cannot encode a categorical breakdown or part-to-whole contribution. It is tempting because it excels at showing relationships between two measures, such as price versus units sold, which is a different analytical question from compositional share.
- ✗
Box plot
Why it's wrong here
A box plot displays distribution through quartiles, median and outliers along a numeric axis, so it cannot show each category's share of a total. It is tempting because box plots excel at comparing spread and skew across groups — the right choice when the question asks how values vary within categories, not their contribution to a whole.
- ✓
Stacked bar chart
Why this is correct
A stacked bar chart segments each bar into category components, so segment heights show individual product contributions while the full bar gives the total. This simultaneously satisfies both requirements: per-category sales and each category's share of overall sales.
- ✗
Line chart
Why it's wrong here
A line chart plots values against a continuous axis, typically time, so it cannot display parts of a whole. It is tempting because line charts excel at showing trends and changes across an ordered sequence, such as monthly sales figures. For category contribution, a pie or stacked bar chart is required.
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Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This DA0-002 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DA0-002 exam.