Can Oxygen Improve Mental Abilities? (revised)

FYI this experiment will have a lot of writing, and I am 17 in high school so getting a perfect controlled environment is hard. this is the updated version I forgot sever items in the other one that I made.

Step 1: Hypothesis

last year in my biology class I learned about photosynthesis and plants producing Oxygen, like a lot of people I didn't think much of it until recently. I was in math class and realized the air quality was bad and i though that if there was more oxygen in the room my class mates and i would preform better on test, because more oxygen leads to better brain function and better muscle performance.
the picture above illustrates photosynthesis where carbondixiode is broken down into oxygen and glucose.

Step 2: Equipment Necessary

3+ potted plants, ones with large leaves, as surface area directly correlates to oxygen produced

2 class rooms, one with windows and one that will have a relatively constant atmosphere all year long

Step 3: Procedure

1. weight half of a school year, this will allow for some test to be taken and grades to be established, also due to the weather near me that time will be winter so the windows will be closed creating high CO2 levels from lack of ventilation.

2. bring plants into room that has windows, and place them in areas so they revive lots of light because light is necessary for photosynthesis. the plants will provide oxygen when the windows are closed.

3. open windows whenever possible to allow maximum air ventilation and add more oxygen to the system

4. inform people that the plants are in the class for decoration, that way no one will know that they are part of a experiment.

5. Take test and follow basic routine for sever weeks, as if nothing is different.

6. at the end of trial period check the test grades leading up to the introduction of the plants in the class room with windows, also check the grades in the other class that had poor ventilation, record that data.

Step 4: Why the Other Class Room?

As I mentioned in the last steps i checked the grades in 2 classrooms the one with windows and the one without. I did this because the class room with windows would allow for more air and hopefully prove my hypothesis, however there are several factors that will change when the plants are introduced.

1. students including me will be happy because school is coming to an end, also it was the start of summer meaning improved weather.

2. there are plants in the room which did have positive affect of the attitudes of the students, many appeared to be happy.

however it the class without windows there would be no change in CO2 levels but it would experience the same effects of summer and school ending, so I can assume if both grades improve the plants had nothing to do with it, but if the grades in the class with windows improved it would show the plants where the only factor that had a effect.

The equation shown is one with many variables that are shared, however only few are different meaning shared variables can be canceled, this was the basis for having the other classroom in the experiment as many factors were shared.

Step 5: Data Q3

unfortunately my school would not allow me to give the names of the test in this so I will simply give grades, and the date of the plants introduction.

this is quarter 3 of the year, what i will show is the class average and then the max possible, this is for the class with the windows during the time the plants were introduced and the widows opened

3.77/4

11.65/16

4.61/5

14.26/18

2.36/3

4.67/5

18.54/2

3/3

8.98/12

3.57/4

3.67/4

8.89/12

4.56/5

4.26/5

10.59/12

79.63/100

29.46/30

83.68/100

29.68/30

67.85/100

397.62/470
= 84.6%

Step 6: Data Q2

this is quarter 2 of the school year this is prior to the plants arrival

12.96/15

3/3

5.7/10

31.31/35

26.81/35

30.39/35

30.46/34

2.81/3

7.27/8

3.93/4

14.44/16

20.28/22

17.93/20

4.89/5

7.24/10

16.22/21

13.56/14

14.37/16

21.06/22

82.74/100

85.27/100

89.78/100

69.96/100

92.22/100

93.78/100

796.38/908
=87.7%

Step 7: Data Q2 in Class Without Windows

this is the class with out windows or plants

18.22/22

24.85/30

12.61/15

49.39/61

19.09/20

32.89/36

18.5/20

19.13/20

45.59/50

90.48/115

53.32/59

28.31/35

28.89/32

31.44/35

472.71/550

=85.9%

Step 8: Class Without Windows Q3

this is the same time period as when the plants where introduced to the other class

21.7/25

22.89/25

12.52/15

26.04/26

40.93/50

85.3/100

209.38/241
=86.7%

Step 9: Analysis

so I did look over the data and discuss with my teachers the results, the class without windows experienced a 1% change in performance, the class with windows had a negative 3% change ,overall they there was no significant change grade wise however the teacher in the class that received the plants did say there was a noticeable improvement in personality and happiness of the students in all class periods.

Step 10: Final Thought

overall this was a great experiment even though the results where not what I hoped for, the only real benefit I observed was the general happiness of the class, also people started to consider the plants partly theirs so they would help to water them and in general admire them. also i found that the experiment had far too many variables for me to control which did have a adverse affect on me drawing a solid conclusion, I do hope i will be able to do this again however in a professional setting.