Abstract
The carbon dioxide (CO2) production intensity by a secondary school student is studied using a nondispersive infrared CO2 logger for different conditions: relaxation, mental stress, and physical stress. CO2 production measured for mental stress is 24% higher than that for relaxation, while CO2 production for physical stress is more than 2.5 times higher than relaxation levels. Dynamics of CO2 concentration in the classroom air is measured for a typical school building. It is shown that even when the classroom is ventilated between classes, CO2 concentration exceeds 2100 parts per million (ppm), which is significantly higher than the recommended limits defined in developed countries. The ability of seventh-grade school students to perform tasks requiring mental concentration is tested under different CO2 concentration conditions (below 1000 ppm and above 2000 ppm). Five-letter word anagrams are used as test tasks. Statistical analysis of the test results revealed a significant reduction in the number of provided correct answers and an increase in the number of errors when CO2 levels exceeded 2000 ppm.
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Original Russian Text © D.I. Sidorin, 2015, published in Geofizicheskie Protsessy i Biosfera, 2015, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 67–80.
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Sidorin, D.I. Dynamics of carbon dioxide concentrations in the air and its effect on the cognitive ability of school students. Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 51, 871–879 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S000143381508006X
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S000143381508006X