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Theory

Time allocation 10 mins.

Indoor Air Quality​

Important!​

In class, we often encounter a climatic discomfort in classes that can affect the work of both teachers and pupils. The main factor affecting, among other things, pupil concentration is the amount of CO2 in the air.

Because of the heat of the school and the exchange of windows, the buildings "naturally breathe". While there is a normal amount of CO2 in the outdoor environment of 400 ppm, in classes it often reaches over 2000 ppm, resulting in symptoms of fatigue, concentration and headache.

In addition to the amount of CO2 in the air, the indoor climate monitor also measures temperature, humidity and air pressure.

Volatile organic compounds or VOCs are organic chemicals that become gas at room temperature and are the main source of air pollution at ground level. The common term used to measure VOC is “Total VOC” or TVOC. TVOC means the total concentration of multiple VOCs presented simultaneously in the air. Acceptable TVOC levels are in the range of up to 0.5 mg/m3, or 500 ppb (parts-per-billion), which is 0.00005%. Higher levels of VOCs are considered harmful because VOCs have a significant impact on human health. Exposure to VOCs may cause eye, nose and throat irritation, as well as upper respiratory tract infection, nausea, allergic reactions and headaches, etc. Long term exposure to higher VOC concentrations may cause chronic respiratory disease or lung cancer.

Topis Overlap:​

  • Biology: Atmosphere (greenhouse gases), photosynthesis, experiments such as measuring the amount of CO2 in the enclosed space (greenhouse) near plants and comparing its amount in day and night hours
  • Chemistry: greenhouse gases, dry ice
  • Health education: the impact of carbon dioxide on human health, human protection (snow extinguishers)

Demonstrations​