Andrea surveyed her classmates about the types of pets they have. The results of her survey are shown in the table.

\begin{tabular}{|c|c|}
\hline
Type of Pet & Number of Students \\
\hline
dog & 12 \\
\hline
cat & 14 \\
\hline
fish & 5 \\
\hline
bird & 3 \\
\hline
other & 4 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

Which type of graph would best display the data?

A. bar graph
B. line graph
C. line plot
D. stem and leaf plot



Answer :

To determine which type of graph best displays the given categorical data from Andrea’s survey, we need to review each graph type and its suitability for this kind of data.

1. Bar Graph:
- A bar graph is ideal for displaying categorical data. It uses bars to show the frequency or count of items in different categories. Each category (type of pet) would have its bar, and the height or length of the bar represents the number of students who have that type of pet.

2. Line Graph:
- A line graph is typically used for data that changes over time. It connects individual data points with lines, making it excellent for continuous data or trends. However, it is not suitable for categorical data like the types of pets.

3. Line Plot:
- A line plot (or dot plot) shows individual data points along a number line. While it can be used for discrete data, it is not the best choice for categorical data with different categories.

4. Stem and Leaf Plot:
- A stem and leaf plot is used to organize numerical data where each number is split into a "stem" and a "leaf." It helps in displaying the frequency distribution of smaller data sets and is more appropriate for numerical data rather than categorical data.

Considering the above explanations, the best type of graph to display Andrea's survey results, which are categorical, is the bar graph.

Therefore, the most suitable choice for displaying the number of students with different types of pets is a bar graph.