Sunflower Track

This blog will track the life of a sunflower planted in ENB 150

After two weeks and no germination, we have decided that the first attempt of growing a sunflower has failed. A new seed will be planted with updates on progress coming later.

3/4/14
First signs of a sprout coming through the soil!

3/7/14
Just a few days later and we have some good looking growth.

SunCalc Lab

Determining the position of the sun and tracking its progress throughout the day can provide valuable information. The following pictures provide insight on how measuring the shadows produced by the sun at different intervals of the day compare with a more capable online software. The plot uses data starting at 9am and ending at 4pm. A stick of roughly 20 inches was used as the reference for the shadows.

For a rough estimate and hand calculations, we can see that the plot does a good job of accurately describing the sun's positioning in the sky throughout the day. Because this experiment was conducted in the winter, we can observe how the sun is lower in the sky than it would be in the summer months.

Tampa Florida Windrose

The following images show the prevailing winds in Tampa Florida during the calendar year of 1992. The windrose plot shows where the winds were blowing to in each season of spring, summer, fall, winter.

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Entire Year

Stetson Parking Lot Rainfall

Estimating the amount of rainfall that can fall onto a parking lot such as this one on Mercer University's campus is an important step for design considerations. Engineers must account for the precipitation in order to adequately drain it effectively. Too much rainwater left standing can render a parking lot useless and even inaccessible. The first step in properly designing the removal of water would of course be knowing how much water to expect in a storm.