Lab #3: Rocks and Construction

Quartz

     Quartz is a mineral that is clear or slightly white in color.  Its chemical formulas is SiO₂. There are many different varieties of quartz, including the rather well known purple amethyst.  The picture below shows pure quarts, which is a transparent and white color.  

Granite

     Granite is a type of rock made up of quartz, feldspare, and hornblende.  Although granite may have different amounts of each mineral, it must have at least 20% of quartz to be classified as granite.  Smaller amounts of quartz would mean the rock was a diorite.  Granite is often polished and used for counter tops.  The picture below shows an unpolished granite rock.

Sandstone

     Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed of sand and other rocks and minerals of the same size.  Sandstone can be almost any color, but it is most commonly tan, brown, red, yellow, pink, white or black.  The picture below shows a red block of sandstone. 

Gneiss

     Gneiss is a rock that is formed from igneous or sedimentary rocks.  A defining feature of Gneiss is its layers.  The picture below shows a gneiss rock with various gray and white layers.

Cruz Plaza

     Cruz plaza is the latest improvement to Mercer University's Macon campus.  The plaza will replace the current porter patch and stretch from the historic quad and Greek village past the Tarver library.  The plaza is named after the Cruz family from Puerto Rico.  Although the construction is not pleasant for the students, the end results will be well worth the hassle.  The picture below shows a computer generated image of what the finished Cruz plaza will look like.  

     There are some considerations that the construction workers must keep in mind while working on the plaza. 1) The construction site could be a safety issue to students who frequently walk near or through the areas where heavy machinery and equipment is being used.  The construction workers must be very careful not to bring any harm to the students. 2) The workers must be aware of any previously exciting infrastructures.  Earlier in the year, a gas line was broken by the construction and buildings had to be evacuated.  This is something that the workers will most definitely want to avoid.  There are several other items to consider when doing a large construction project such as this, but the workers are doing a great job so far, and hopefully the construction of Cruz plaza will continue without any major issues. 

My Sunflower blog 

Day 1: 1/22/13 I planted the sunflower seed in a cup with some soil. when I got back to my dorm, I watered it and put it on my windowsill so it could emjoy the sunlight

Day 2: 1/23/13 I watered my sunflower today, and I let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 3: 1/24/13 Today, my sunflower did not get much sunlight. It was a gloomy day, and although it was on the windowsill, there was not much sunlight coming through. I also watered my sunflower today.

Day 4: 1/25/13 Today, I found a sprout in the cup. It is curled over into the dirt, so all I can see is the side of the stem.  I watered the sunflower sprout and let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 4: 1/25/13 Today, I watered the sunflower sprout and let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 5: 1/26/13 Today, the sprout grew up a little bit so that the plant is growing straight up and no longer bent over.  The sprout is not very tall, and the sunflower seed shell is still on the plant.  I watered the plant today and let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 6: 1/27/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill.  It seems to have grown a little bit taller, but other than that it looks the same.

Day 7: 1/28/13 Today, I did not have to water my sunflower. The dirt was still moist, so i left in on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 8: 1/29/13 Today, my sunflower looks significantly taller.  It seems to have had a growth spurt, yet the sunflower seed shell is still on the plant.  I watered it and left in on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 9: 1/30/13 Today, my plant looks great!  The shell came off of the plant and two large leaves are showing.  It has grown even taller. I watered it and put it on the windowsill for sunlight, yet it is very cloudy outside and no sun is coming through.

Day 10: 1/31/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill. It seems to still be growing taller each day.

Day 11: 2/1/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill. It is several inches tall and growing more every day.

Day 12: 2/2/13 Today, when I went to water my sunflower I saw that it had grown two new leaves! They are growing out of the center of the original two leaves.

Day 13: 2/3/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill. The new leaves have grown significantly bigger since yesterday. 

Day 14: 2/4/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill.  The leaves have gotten much bigger, and they are catching up to the size of the original two leaves.

Day 15: 2/5/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill.  The plant has started to grow taller at the top so that the two new leaves are raised above the two original leaves.

Day 16: 2/6/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill.  The two new leaves have grown almost as large as the original leaves, yet they are not as wide.

Day 17: 2/7/13 Today, I did not have to water my sunflower.  I left it on the windowsill, but it was a very rainy day, and it did not get much sunlight.  The plant continues to grow, and the newer leaves are raised very high above the original leaves.

Day 18: 2/8/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 19: 2/9/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight.  The plant continues to grow taller both from the bottom and between the two sets of leaves.

Day 20: 2/10/13 Today, I watered my sunflower and let it sit on the windowsill for sunlight. The plant has grown very tall, and the leaves are getting larger as well.

Day 21: 2/11/13 Today, I watered my plant and set in on the windowsill for sunlight, but there was not much sun.

Day 22: 2/12/13 Today, I did not need to water my plant because the soil was still moist. I left it on the windowsill in case any sun came through, but it was cloudy and rainy all day.

Day 23: 2/13/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, yet once again it is a cloudy and rainy day, so it does not seem that the plant has gotten any sunlight. Regardless of the weather, my plant has grown even taller, and it has sprouted two more leaves at the top.

Day 24: 2/14/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, but the sun was not shining today, because it was very cloudy.

Day 25: 2/15/13 Today, I did not have to water my plant because the soil was still moist. I left it on the windowsill, and finally it was sunny today so my plant could have sun.  The two new leaves have grown a little bit, but they are still very small.

Day 26: 2/16/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 27: 2/17/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. The new leaves have not grown much bigger yet.

Day 28: 2/18/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 29: 2/19/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, but it was rainy yet again and there was not much sun

Day 30: 2/20/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 31: 2/21/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. The newest leaves have grown larger. I noticed that the bottom leaves have started to get lighter than the rest of the plant.

Day 32: 2/22/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. 

Day 33: 2/23/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. 

Day 34: 2/24/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. The newest leaves continue to grow larger, and the bottom leaves have gotten so light that they barely look green anymore. 

Day 35: 2/25/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, yet it was a cloudy day, and not much sun came through.

Day 36: 2/26/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 37: 2/27/13 Today, I watered my plant and left in on the windowsill for sunlight.  The bottom leaves of my plant have brown areas on them, and they look like they are dying.

Day 38: 2/28/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 39: 3/1/13 Today, I watered m plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  One of the bottom leaves has turned completely brown and died, yet it is still connected to the plant.

Day 40: 3/2/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 41: 3/3/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it by the windowsill for sunlight. The other bottom leaf has turned brown, but it is not dead yet.

Day 42: 3/4/13 Today, I watered my plant and left in on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 43: 3/5/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. The leaves on the bottom continue to brown and die, yet they are still attached to the plant.  The plant has grown two new leaves at the very top.

Day 44: 3/6/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 45: 3/7/13 Today, I re-potted my plant.  The roots had grown all the way to the bottom of the styrofoam cup, and they had wrapped around several times.  I then watered my plant and left in on the windowsill for sunlight.  

Day 46: 3/8/13 Today, I brought my plant home with me for spring break.  It survived the car ride and has a new temporary home on my kitchen windowsill.  I watered my plant and left in on the windowsill for sunlight. 

Day 47: 3/9/13 Today, I watered my plant and left in on the windowsill for sunlight.  One of the dead leaves on the bottom has fallen off.

Day 48: 3/10/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The new leaves at the top have grown a little bigger.

Day 49: 3/11/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The other dead leaf on the bottom fell off.

Day 50: 3/12/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 51: 3/13/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The two new leaves have grown, and the plant now has two more new leaves.

Day 52: 3/14/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 53: 3/15/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight. The new leaves don't seem to be growing much yet. 

Day 54: 3/16/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 55: 3/17/13 Today, my plant traveled back to Mercer with me.  Because of the travel time, my plant did not get much sunlight, and it did not need water today. 

Day 56: 3/18/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  It was an overcast day, and not much sun came through the window.

Day 57: 3/19/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 58: 3/20/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The leaves are growing slightly, but they are still rather small.

Day 59: 3/21/13 Today,  I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 60: 3/22/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 61: 3/23/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, but it was slightly overcast, so not much sun came through. 

Day 62: 3/24/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, but it was overcast yet again, so not much sun came through.

Day 63: 3/25/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The plant is still growing, but it is happening rather slowly, and nothing has drastically changed for awhile.

Day 64: 3/26/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 65: 3/27/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 66: 3/28/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 67: 3/29/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 68: 3/30/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  One of the bottom leaves has started to fade.

Day 69: 3/31/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The bottom leaf is still loosing its color

Day 70: 4/1/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The bottom leaf has started to brown

Day 71: 4/2/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.

Day 72: 4/3/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The bottom leaf continues to brown

Day 73: 4/4/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The bottom leaf has turned completely brown

Day 74: 4/5/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight, but it was a very rainy and overcast day, so it did not get much sun.

Day 75: 4/6/13 Today, I did not need to water my plant, but I left it on the windowsill for sunlight

Day 76: 4/7/13 Today, I watered my plant and left it on the windowsill for sunlight.  The bottom leaf has completely shriveled up and died, but it is still attached to the plant

     Lab #1

       At Mercer University, there is a parking lot behind the Willet Science Center that prevents water from absorbing into the ground when it rains.  The parking lot drains off the water from the rain to another area.  I calculated the number of gallons of water that would be collected on this surface during a hypothetical 0.5 inch rainstorm.  I measured the length and Width of the lot by using Google Earth, then calculated the volume (in gallons of water) that would have been collected.  The total was 16,307 gallons. By comparing that to the average swimming pool of 10,000 gallons, it is easy to see what a great amount of rain water that is.  During a rain storm, this water would be drained into another area of Macon, which could have an impact on that particular area and its surroundings.  The picture below shows a Google Earth map of the parking lot and the data.