Define the sampling objective.

Describe the scientific question your project is addressing. What is the hypothesis your project is going to test? For example, if you are concerned about the level of particulates by the school bus depot, your sampling objective might be:

The level of particulates is expected to increase with each additional bus that idles in the depot. The sampling objective is to measure the amount of particulates in the depot in different conditions such as when there are no buses, few buses, a moderate number of buses or when the depot is full. The more buses in the depot, the higher the expected concentration of particulates. In addition, particulate concentration is expected to increase the longer the buses are idling. This information will be used to understand the relationship between number of buses, duration of idling and concentration of particulates and will also show the amount of potential exposure to the particulates.

For what parameters are you sampling? (e.g. NO₂, CO, CO₂)

List the parameters for which you are sampling. Each project needs to sample for the specific parameters that are the focus of the project plus the meteorological parameters. The meteorological parameters include: barometric pressure, temperature, relative humidity, wind direction and wind speed.

Describe the method of data collection. - (Include the frequency, duration and location of monitoring.)

In this section, describe where the ACCESS system will be set up, how long the system will run, and whether you plan on duplicating the measurements in the same day. A good way to control for influences of weather patterns is to duplicate the measurements on the same day and in the same location. Consider how close you want the system to be to a potential contamination source, the possibility of human or animal interference and whether you can control for other sources of pollution.

Explain how you will establish baseline levels of sampling parameters.

In this section, describe how you will determine the background level of contamination. If your investigation is to measure the contamination from a specific source, subtracting this baseline level from the measurements downwind from the source provides an estimate of the contribution of the source. You may want to establish baseline levels by monitoring when the specific source is not operating, or by measuring upwind of the source or monitoring in a separate relatively clean area.

However, please note that obtaining accurate baseline data is tricky. Weather patterns influence the "fingerprint" of contaminants found in an area. (e.g. winds coming from the north may be cleaner than winds coming from the west or south) It is best to try to establish baseline conditions on the same day as when the monitoring for a specific source takes place.

Describe how the scientific concepts of sampling plans will be taught in the classroom.

For classroom teachers, describe how you plan on teaching the design of sampling plans in your classes. Activity 13, Activity 15, Activity 19, the introduction to Section 4, and Activities 21- 25 from the AIR CURRENTS curriculum illustrate the concepts. Activity 25 is especially helpful.

 

You may submit a sampling plan on-line for review and to share with others or you may print a copy of the form for your own use by clicking on the links below.

Teachers may copy selected pages for student use.

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