How does smoking affect a

4.1
baby’s weight at birth?
Here is some data for mothers about smoking during pregnancy.
Their babies all had low weights when they were born.

Number of cigarettes smoked each % of babies with low weight at birth

day

0 3.6

1–20 8.4

More than 20 9.6

1 Represent this data graphically. Choose the best way to represent this
data meaningfully.
1
0
% of babies with low weight at birth
5

Cambridge Checkpoint Lower Secondary Science Stage 9 Teacher’s Guide Third Edition © Peter D Riley Ltd and Judith Amery 2022
 1 - 20 20+
Number of cigarettes smoked each day
2 Use the data above or your graph to answer these questions.
a Describe what advantage not smoking during pregnancy has on a
newborn baby.
They will most likely have a normal weight during birth
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
b What percentage of babies born to mothers who smoke between 1
and 20 cigarettes a day can be classed as a ‘normal’ weight at birth?
91.6
_______________________________________________________
c i Do you think this would be enough to convince a smoker to
give up smoking whilst they are pregnant?
Yes □
No □
ii Explain your answer.
The addiction might keep them hooked
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
d Describe the trend shown by the data.
The more you smoke during pregnancy the more your baby might be underweight.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Cambridge Checkpoint Lower Secondary Science Stage 9 Teacher’s Guide Third Edition © Peter D Riley Ltd and Judith Amery 2022