Ms. Frizzle, Science Teacher Combustion of Different Wood Species in Woodstoves and Their Effect on the Indoor PM2.5 Jane Doe and John Smith Jefferson High School Ms. Frizzle, Science Teacher

Introduction Question- Is there a significant difference in indoor PM2.5 levels for the different wood species burned in wood stoves? Hypothesis- There will be a significant difference in PM2.5 of the various wood species.

Most Commonly Burned Wood Species . * Percentages from 28 sample sites that use wood stoves as their primary heat source.

Procedure Prior to testing- During test period- After test period- same wood source, cleaned EPA certified test stoves, set DustTrak location, questionnaire During test period- burned duration of test period, documented wood stove and house related activities After test period- recorded minimum, maximum, average PM2.5 level, T-Tests, compared house to itself

Combined PM2.5 Graph

Combined PM2.5 Graph

T-Tests Western Larch compared to Douglas Fir: P Value of DustTrak- 0.924 P Value of Leland- 0.219 Douglas Fir to Lodgepole: P Value of DustTrak- 0.392 P Value of Leland- 0.876 Lodgepole to Western Larch: P Value of DustTrak- 0.405 P Value of Leland- 0.264 * P Value ≤ .05

Conclusion Given the information and various test results, there was not enough statistical evidence to support the hypothesis.

Improvements/ Changes Better effort to limit household variables Greater sample size Measure density (soft wood vs. hard wood)/ moisture content of samples Measure outdoor PM levels produced from chimney Correlation between homes with wood stoves and respiratory problems?

Questions?