Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 14 : Fall 2012 | Page 28

branching out with STEM:

the science behind

Autumn
splendor
by Jen Brophy, Engineering Instructor MSSM

Autumn has arrived in Aroostook County! The
nights are crisp, school is back in session, and the leaves are
turning on The County’s eighteen million acres of forest
land. With northern Maine awash in red and gold, it’s
no surprise that our state holds some of the country’s best
opportunities for leaf peeping. In fact, the Maine Tourism
Bureau estimates that 8-10 million people visit the state
each fall, and many of those visitors come specifically to see
the spectacular foliage of our fifty-two species of broadleaf
trees.

Did you ever wonder about the science behind the
phenomenon, though? Why do birches turn yellow while
maples turn red and orange?

The answer lies in chemistry