Chart assignment

Charts to read and discuss

Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.

  1. How many people die in traffic crashes in the U.S. each year?
  2. Where does US electricity come from?

Chart 1 of 2 · Road safety

How many people die in traffic crashes in the U.S. each year?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

39,254 people died in traffic crashes in the U.S. in 2024, against a recent high of 43,230 in 2021 and the 1979 peak of 51,093. The lowest year since 1975 was 2011, with 32,479 deaths. FARS counts people who died within 30 days of a crash on a public road; the 2024 number comes from NHTSA's annual report file and may be revised slightly.

Questions to discuss

  1. In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
  2. Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
  3. Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?

Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2024

Open the chart and its numbers

Chart 2 of 2 · Energy

Where does US electricity come from?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

In 2025 natural gas made 40.8% of US electricity, followed by nuclear (17.7%) and coal (16.6%). Wind made 10.5% and solar 6.7%. Solar counts only utility-scale plants, not rooftop panels, and the 2025 figures are preliminary.

How to read this chart

Each bar is one energy source's share of all the electricity made in the U.S. in a year, so the bars add up to about 100%. The bars start at zero, so a bar twice as long means twice the share. Solar counts only large power plants, not panels on rooftops.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which source makes the most electricity? About how many times more than the smallest bar?
  2. Which of these sources burn fuel and which don't? What share of electricity comes from each group?
  3. Why might a chart of this kind look different in your state than for the whole country?

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review (Table 7.2a) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025

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