Research Plan Template

Student name(s): Maryam Najeeb

Research Plan (to Accompany Form 1A)
A) Rationale
People spend most of their time indoors. Therefore, it’s imperative to have clean, unpolluted indoor air. Plants have
shown a significant difference for improving indoor air quality. However, its essential to know what type of indoor
plant does this best.
This Science Fair project consists of experimentation and research regarding the use of plants to remove indoor air
pollution. It contains information and data on how and which plant removes the most indoor air toxins effectively.
Experiments involved in this project include the use of plants in a closed environment where they will be exposed to
toxic air for a long duration of time and they will be put under observations through the use of devices that measure
AQI to see which is the most effective at removing the toxins in the closed environment.
B) Research Question(s), Hypothesis(es), Engineering Goal(s), Expected
Outcomes.
Research Question(s): Which house plant is most effective at improving indoor air quality?
Hypothesis(es): Plants clean indoor air by absorbing air pollutants and by renewing the air constantly by producing
oxygen. Different plants have different characteristics such as faster cleaning, more oxygen…etc.
Engineering Goal(s):
Expected Outcomes: To identify how plants purify indoor air and which type is the best and most suitable for an
indoor environment
Procedure(s)
Part 1
Materials:
1. Plastic bucket
2. Incense burner and incense sticks
3. Different plants and different amounts
4. Purple Air Sensor
5. Matches
6. Timer
7. Camera
8. Light source
Procedure:
1. Turn the bucket over and drill a few holes at the bottom for a small amount of ventilation
2. Check the air quality by measuring it with the Purple Air Sensor application and make sure it’s clean before
you start throughout all trials.
3. Pre-water all plants the same amount and expose to sunlight for the same amount of time for all of them.
4. Place plant, Sensor, and incense burner on the floor under a light source (sun)
5. Start a time-lapse video capturing the experimental set up
6. Light the incense burner using the matches (under adult supervision) and quickly cover the plant, sensor, and
burner under the clear bucket with the drilled holes facing up.
7. Record the air quality when you light up the incense burner. Use this to compare the quality after some time.
8. Start a timer for 30 minutes or 1 hour and check in with the sensor every now and then to record the air
quality
9. Continue this for 12 – 24 hours depending on how much smoke the incense burner creates.
10. Repeat steps 2-9 using different plants for a different amount of trials.
Part 2
Materials:
1. Plastic bucket
2. Incense burner and incense sticks
 Research Plan Template

3. Purple Air Sensor

4. Matches
5. Light source
6. Camera
7. Timer

Procedure
1. Repeat steps 2-9 but don’t include the plant in this trial. Observe the lasting effect of smoke in the container
and use this data and observation to compare with the trials that included plants in the experiment.
Experiment set up diagram:

Risk and Safety

Supervision:
The process of lighting the incense burner may carry a risk that it will burn the plant and/or container. Precautions will
be taken by having adult supervision.
Flammability:
If needed, a phone call to 911 will be made

Data Analysis
- Thorough notes will be taken of the observation made in the experiment. All observations will be in a science
research journal.
- Photos will be taken of the trials to compare the amount of smoke that will be present during the experiment
- Videos will be taken of the experiment
- Comparison between trial made with plants and without plants will be made in research journal
- After conducting all trials, comparisons between all plants and the observations taken will be compared and
evaluated to get the final result of which type(s) of plant is best for indoor air quality.
IF Applicable
 Research Plan Template

Below are subject-specific guidelines for additional items to be included in your

research plan/project summary as applicable.
Human participants research:
a. Participants: Describe age range, gender, racial/ethnic composition of participants. Identify vulnerable populations
(minors, pregnant women, prisoners, mentally disabled or economically disadvantaged).
b. Recruitment: Where will you find your participants? How will they be invited to participate?
c. Methods: What will participants be asked to do? Will you use any surveys, questionnaires or tests? What is the
frequency and length of time involved for each subject?
d. Risk Assessment: What are the risks or potential discomforts (physical, psychological, time involved, social, legal,
etc.) to participants? How will you minimize risks? List any benefits to society or participants.
e. Protection of Privacy: Will identifiable information (e.g., names, telephone numbers, birth dates, email addresses)
be collected? Will data be confidential/anonymous? If anonymous, describe how the data will be collected. If not
anonymous, what procedures are in place for safeguarding confidentiality? Where will data be stored? Who will have
access to the data? What will you do with the data after the study?
f. Informed Consent Process: Describe how you will inform participants about the purpose of the study, what they
will be asked to do, that their participation is voluntary and they have the right to stop at any time.

Vertebrate animal research:

a. Discuss potential ALTERNATIVES to vertebrate animal use and present justification for use of vertebrates.
b. Explain potential impact or contribution of this research.
c. Detail all procedures to be used, including methods used to minimize potential discomfort, distress, pain and injury
to the animals and detailed chemical concentrations and drug dosages.
d. Detail animal numbers, species, strain, sex, age, source, etc., include justification of the numbers planned.
e. Describe housing and oversight of daily care
f. Discuss disposition of the animals at the termination of the study.
Potentially hazardous biological agents research:
a. Give source of the organism and describe BSL assessment process and BSL determination.
b. Detail safety precautions and discuss methods of disposal.

Hazardous chemicals, activities & devices:

• Describe Risk Assessment process, supervision, safety precautions and methods of disposal.