What does a frequency polygon depict?

A frequency polygon is a graphical representation that displays the distribution of a dataset. It is created by connecting the midpoints of each interval or class in a histogram with straight lines. This means that it visualizes the same data as a histogram but does so in a way that emphasizes trends and patterns over continuous intervals.

Choosing to depict the data as a smoothed line rather than as individual bars allows for a clearer understanding of the overall distribution. This method is particularly useful for identifying the shape of the distribution, such as whether it is normal, skewed, or bimodal, and it can highlight fluctuations in frequency more efficiently than discrete bars.

The other options present different concepts: discrete points refer to a scatter plot, mean values are related to measures of central tendency rather than a distribution visualization, and a bar representation describes a histogram more than a frequency polygon. Thus, the option highlighting a smoothed graph of a histogram accurately describes what a frequency polygon does.