Baby Sunflower Project

February 11th, my child was conceived (my flower child that is). Yes, I became the proud mother of a little sunflower seed, named Bluma. Bluma may be small in her little Styrofoam cup, but she has a big future ahead of her. Once she grows nice and tall, and I can bear to part with her, she's going to join her siblings in the community garden. Sunflowers are the perfect additions to community gardens, because they can scavenge lead out of the urban soils. I'll be sure to keep you updated, week to week, on my little babies growth and on the importance of community gardens.

Feb. 18th 

February 18th: my baby has finally peeked her little head up out of the soil. It took her one week to sprout, but now she is in a sunnier location and will hopefully grow a little faster.

Feb. 25th 

February 25th: In just a short week after sprouting, Bluma is already 13 cm tall! She has two little leaves and is quite a curvy girl. Her favorite activity is following the direction of the sun. With her rapid growth she'll be ready for the community gardens in no time.

Mar. 4th 

March 4th: Happy Mardi Gras from Bluma and I!  Bluma is still going strong today. She has grown to about 16 cm and has sprouted two more leaves. On a cold, cloudy day like this one, she can't help but peak out the window and look for her friend, the sun. Maybe she'll get some Mardi Gras beads to brighten her mood.

Mar. 11th

March 11th: Spring Break Time! That means Bluma and I had a change of scenery for the week. We headed home for a little relaxation. Of course Bluma's grandmother pampered her a bit, giving her a nice sturdy stick and cute clip to make sure she doesn't keep falling over. Bluma is just getting too big for her little cup at a whole 20 cm! She definitely enjoyed being around a few other plants for the week.

Mar. 25th

March 25th: Sorry to skip a week on ya'll, but it has been a busy time lately. Bluma and I are back at her grandma's house for a little bit, but I think she likes it better here anyways. She gets to be around other plants and the water doesn't make her soil moldy. Bluma's two baby leaves have been shed and now she has four brand new ones. She is standing at 26 cm tall, and although her leaves aren't quite as big as some of the other class plant's, I'm sure she will be fine in time to head to the community gardens.

April 8th

April 8th: My April Fool's joke was that I didn't post a picture of Bluma for that day. Good one, right? Bluma is growing like crazy right now. She's already up to 36 cm with lots of leaves. We are just hoping Dr. Rood hasn't forgotten about her. She really wants to go to the community garden. . .

Sun Trajectory Lab

      When the sun makes its way across the sky everyday, its path isn't always the same. Sometimes it rises in the Southeast and sets in the Southwest or the Northeast and Northwest, it all depends on the season and time of the year. This phenomenon is due to the Earth's tilt. The Earth, which rotates around the Sun on its axis, does so at a 23.5 degree angle. The axis tilt is what causes the different seasons and the lengths of days.

       Right now, since it is winter, the sun rises in the Southeast and sets in the Southwest in the Northern Hemisphere. Tracking this path is actually pretty easy. One possible method is the one used in this lab. All it requires is a stick, a ruler, and a compass. First, the stick must be placed in the ground and measured. This stick is now our reference. Then the shadow of the stick is also measured, along with the direction of the sun. We repeat this process a couple of times a day. Once we have all of this data, we can find the tangent of the angle the sun and stick create, which would be the stick's height divided by the shadow's length. By plotting this data on a radial graph, we have a nice visual of the sun's path. There is also an electronic version of this process called suncalc.net. On suncalc you can chose any day and location, and it will give you a visual of the Sun's path.
     At Mercer University, the Sun's path may not be noticeably different from month to month. However, some places around the world experience extreme changes in the sun's path from season to season. For this reason, places like Alaska will have sunlight all summer long and darkness all winter. This magnificent occurrence is so interesting and easy to track.

Here is the data collected by Olivia Williams:

Height	Length	Tangent	Degree	Direction
27	32	0.844	40	N
27	49	0.551	29	NE
27	134	0.202	11	NE
27	100	0.27	15	NW
27	56	0.482	26	NW
27	35	0.771	38	NW