What is a Mole?

  The Mole was initially hypothesized by Italian physicist Amedeo Avogadro in 1811.  Specifically, Avogadro believed that equal volumes of different gases at the same temperature would have the same number of molecules.  Avogadro's hypothesis was not yet a constant used for calculation of measurement; rather, it was a concept of molecular/atomic measurement that would later be refined and developed by many more scientists such as Stanislao Cannizzaro and Albert Einstein.  The mole was found to be precisely 6.022 x 10^23, and dubbed "Avogadro's Number".
   The mole's significance in chemistry is irreplaceable-- other quantities such as the dozen (12), ream (500), or century (100) are much too small to measure particles.  The mole gives a visible, reasonable measurement for the scientist to work with. In addition, 1 mole of an element weighs the same as that element's atomic mass (in grams).  This makes for easy conversions and calculations.

Sources:
http://www.chemicalformula.org/chemistry-help/mole-chemistry
http://iopscience.iop.org/0026-1394/31/3/001
http://www.visionlearning.com/library/module_viewer.php?mid=53

Why it is important to study cycles in couples.

In studying biogeochemical cycles in couples, it is easier to understand how the cycles interact with each other, and provides a better understanding of how they are interdependent.   For example, the element carbon passes through the earth's atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere, playing key roles in different cycles.  Elements are often "recycled", by having the output of one cycle become the input of another.  Coupling the nitrogen and oxygen cycles could lead to a better understanding of their relationship,  and may help determine the best use of nitrogen fertilizers.  Coupling the biogeochemicalcycles helps us to understand the true consequences of our actions as humans, because of the deeper understanding it gives us regarding the interdependency of the earth's natural cycles.

4 Facts: Bonding

1. Bonding determines physical properties and characteristics of the resulting compound.
2.Strain can be used to affect the bond and its characteristics.
3.Because of the new insight into how strain affects atomic bonds on a closer level, scientists may be able to control properties of bonds.
4.One of the possible results of this discovery is the development of more efficient silicon compounds.

Alloys

1. An alloy is a metal composed of more than one element.  Alloys are engineered by melting down the elements and mixing them to make a new solution.  Alloys are primarily engineered to change certain properties.  For example, steel is created using iron and carbon, and can be engineered to be stronger or lighter than iron alone.  Another example of an alloy is magnesium alloy, which is found in high-end camera bodies to increase strength and durability.  It is composed of magnesium, and other metals including aluminum, zinc, and tungsten.

Causes of Color- 5 Facts

After reading "Causes of Color- Color Vision in Birds", the five most interesting facts that stuck out to me were

1. Some species of birds can see UV light.
2. Changes in ambient light can affect birds' reproduction and fertility.
3.Birds' retinas are far more complex then humans'.
4.The world is not exactly how humans see it, other things are left invisible due to the human eye's limited range of vision.
5.How a more complex range of vision is such an integral part of birds' lives (for example, the need for birds that live in a tropical environment to distinguish food/prey from green canopies, the ability to see excrements of prey)

Naming New Elements

The right of naming an element is given to the discover(s) of the element.  According to the article, new elements' names must end in "-ium", referring to einsteinium, copernicium, and nobelium, among other relatively recently discovered elements.   Once the desired name is chosen, it is proposed to an international group of scientists for approval.  Until the name is chosen and approved, the element is referred to by its number on the periodic table.

Glow-in-the-dark millipede says stay away?

Upon reading the article, there were five specific facts that stuck out to me most.

1. Scientists believe they have only discovered about 10 percent of all millipede species.
2.Millipedes often display bright colors or excrete toxic fluids to turn away predators.
3.According to the experiment, the Grasshopper mouse is one of the most likely predators of millipedes.
4.All millipedes are vegetarians.
5.Bioluminescence has never been used as these scientists hypothesize the Motyxia millipedes do.

The experiment shows clear signs of the classic scientific method -- there is a hypothesis (The Motyxia millepedes use bioluminescence to turn away predators), there is a control (the millipedes used in the experiment) and a variable (The percentage of millipedes preyed upon).  Afterwords, using their observations from the experiment (which was leaving various millipedes out at night, some glowing and some painted over) they formed a conclusion -- that the Motyxia millipedes did, indeed use bioluminescence to turn away predators.