To determine the best type of graph to represent the change in population of a town over time, let's analyze the available options:
1. Bar Graph: While bar graphs are useful for comparing discrete categories, they are not as effective for showing continuous data over time.
2. Line Graph: Line graphs are specially designed to display changes over time. They connect data points with lines, making it easy to observe trends and patterns in the data.
3. Line Plot: Line plots (or dot plots) display individual data points on a number line. They are good for small data sets and seeing the frequency of values but are less suitable for observing trends over time compared to line graphs.
4. Stem and Leaf Plot: Stem and leaf plots are excellent for showing the distribution of individual values within a data set. However, they are not designed to show changes over time.
Given the nature of the data, where we want to observe the trend of population changes over multiple years, the best choice is a line graph. This will allow the mayor to clearly see how the population has grown from 1990 to 2010 by connecting the population values of each year with a line, thereby visualizing the trend effectively.
Therefore, the answer is:
line graph
