See It Now Part 3
Making a Bar Graph
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Introduction
Completed Bar Graph
Making a Bar Graph Worksheet
Relevant National Science Education Standards
Relevant New Jersey State Science Education Standards
Introduction
The types of cancer most prevalent in the United States (or in any country of the world, for
that matter) have not been constant. Changing lifestyles, changing behavior and changing public
awareness of the risk factors for cancer over the years have all caused different forms of
cancer to increase or decrease in importance. This activity allows students to look at a
"snapshot" of the important forms of cancer, using 1999 data, and to practice graphing skills
using real data.
The students' bar graphs should look something like this:
total
females
males
Brain
8,368,000
91,000
4,903,000
42,000
3,456,000
49,000
Making a Bar Graph Worksheet
Two printable versions of the See it Now Part 3 worksheet are available for you to use. Click
for either the Microsoft Word® version or the
html version.
As you interpret the graphs with students, note the top five forms and remind students to refer
to them as they engage in other activities in this module or as they hear about cancer in the
news. There is often a difference between what people think are the most prevalent forms of
cancer and which forms actually are most prevalent. For example, the publicity given to smoking
and cancer or to skin cancer might lead students to believe that lung cancer and skin cancer are
among the most prevalent forms. The data say they are not. Be sure to use the term "prevalence"
and not "importance" since to a family experiencing any form of cancer, that form is most
important.
You might suggest to students that they investigate what factors contribute to the prevalence of
the top five. Or you might divide the class into five teams, each team assigned one of the top
five to research.
Relevant National Science Education Standards
History and Nature of Science —
By drawing conclusions from observed data the students experience an important aspect of the
nature of scientific knowledge.
Relevant New Jersey State Science Education Standards
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Breast
Cervix uteri
Colon
Corpus uteri
Hodgkin's disease
Kidney & renal pelvis
Larynx
Leukemias
Lung
Melanomas of the skin
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Oral cavity/pharynx
Ovary
Pancreas
Prostate
Rectum
Stomach
Testis
Thyroid
Urinary Bbadder
2,057,000
211,000
877,000
550,000
158,000
204,000
132,000
144,000
397,000
484,000
300,000
214,000
191,000
25,000
1,017,000
379,000
77,000
130,000
214,000
601,000
2,044,000
211,000
469,000
550,000
74,000
81,000
26,000
64,000
185,000
250,000
150,000
80,000
191,000
13,000
0
177,000
35,000
0
161,000
158,000
13,000
0
408,000
0
84,000
123,000
106,000
80,000
212,000
234,000
150,000
134,000
0
12,000
1,017,000
202,000
42,000
130,000
53,000
443,000
Science in Personal and Social
Perspectives — The readings clearly show the involvement of science in facing a personal and
community health challenge, specifically cancer.
5.1
The activity requires the students to analyze data and draw conclusions from them.
5.3
The activity is mathematically-based.
Copyright ©2001
The Chemical Heritage Foundation