Where the guns are.

• Position: GRAPH

Gun control is once again a subject of intense debate in the U.S., following the assassination attempt on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (see "'Warning Shots," p. 6). As the graph at right shows, the U.S. has the highest gun-ownership rate in the world, with almost 90 firearms for every 100 residents. Because some residents own multiple firearms, the gun-ownership rate is not the same as the percentage of people who own guns (see note, far right).

[GRAPHIC OMITTED]

This bar graph shows the 10 countries with the highest rates of on ownership. The rates On the graph were determined by dividing the total number Of guns by the population, then multiplying by 100. The rates are based only on privately owned, nonmilitary small firearms.

ANALYZE THE GRAPH

(1) Saudi Arabia has about 23 million people. You can use its gun-ownership rate to determine that it has about--guns.

a 1 million

b 8 million

c 19 million

d 36 million

(2) How many countries have more than 40 guns for every 100 residents?

a four

b two

c six

d ten

(3) The nation with the second-highest gun-ownership rate has a rate that is--points higher than the nation with the third-highest rate.

a 35

b 19

c 9

d 2

(4) Mexico (not shown) has 15 million firearms--about 3 million more than Yemen. But Mexico doesn't make the graph's top 10. What inference can you make?

a Mexico has very strict gun Laws.

b Mexicans own multiple guns.

c Mexico's population is small.

d Mexico has

a very large population.

(5) The majority of the 10 countries with the highest gun ownership rates are on which two continents?

a Africa and Europe

b Asia and South America

c Europe and Asia

d North America...