Learning activity 3:   Assessing skin cancer risk

 

 

Purpose:  This activity is about understanding the various factors that determine a person’s exposure to UV radiation.  The idea here is to change students’ ideas about ozone depletion being the major cause of Australia’s high rate of skin cancer.

 

Materials Needed:

 

Provided UV maps, pencil and paper

 

 

Procedure:

Assemble students into groups of 2-4.  Students are given two UV maps for opposite seasons (i.e. winter and summer).  Students are also given profiles of four people, who have different jobs and live in different cities and have different ethnic backgrounds.  Based on students understanding of risks to skin cancer (as discussed in Lesson 3), the students  are to answer the provided questions about the people’s risk to skin cancer.  

 

Each student should work in a group.  A discussion session can interrupt this activity to discuss results and answer questions.   Assure students that answer may vary, but they have to justify their answers.

 

Assessment suggestions:

 

Student groups could be assessed on their answers and explanations. 

 

Teacher notes:

 

Fig 1 and 2:  Satellite measurements of the UV Erythemal Exposure on Jan 14, 2000 and July 1, 2000.  Basically, this is the amount of UV reaching the Earth’s surface.  Colors denote energy per square meter, so red and yellows are high UV, and blues and purples are low UV. 

 

Notice how in Fig. 1,  UV maximums are in Southern Hemisphere, since the sun in higher in the sky at this time of year, while in Fig 2, UV maximums are in the Northern Hemisphere. 

 

The idea is for teachers to point out the different cities used in this activity on one of the maps.  By comparing the summer of the Northern Hemisphere map with the summer of the Southern Hemisphere map, it is possible to determine that Melbourne has more UV radiation in their summer than London has in it’s summer.  

 

Students are then to think about UV exposure in relation to employment and where a person lives.  Also, students should think about skin cancer risk, in relation to skin type.  The idea is to get students thinking about different risk factors related to skin cancer besides ozone depletion.

 

 

 

Learning Activity 3:  Assessing Skin Cancer Risk

 

Imagine three different people, who have different occupations, live in different cities, and have different ethnic backgrounds and thus skin color.  Based on how much time they spend outside, where they live, and their skin type, they will each have different risks of skin cancer.  The maps of UV radiation provided below indicate the seasonal change in UV radiation (summer versus winter) for the entire globe.  Using just the information from the UV maps, answer the following question

 

  1. Who would have a higher risk of skin cancer.  An outdoor worker living London or an outdoor worker living in Darwin?  Why?

 

  1. Who would have a higher risk of skin cancer.  An outdoor worker living in Southern India or an outdoor worker living in Tasmania?  Why?

 

Now consider the following diagram:

 

 

 


Occupation:

 

 

 

 

 


Location:

 

 

 

 

Ethnicity:

 

 

 

From the above diagram, answer the following questions:

 

  1. Indicate the combination (occupation, location and ethnicity) that would produce the:

 

    1. highest risk of skin cancer (explain why)
    2. lowest risk of skin cancer (explain why)

c.  Indicate what the person of high risk could do to lower their risk.

 

  1. Now consider your own student group.  Who in your student group would have the highest risk of skin cancer, and who would have the lowest risk.  Consider not only skin type, but personal exposure to UV radiation.  Explain your response.

 

  1. Explain what the ‘high risk’ person in your student group could do to reduce their risk of skin cancer.