What is a Mole?

A mole is a universal unit used to measure the amount of a certain chemical. Using grams or absolute numbers of atoms/molecules/ions would be way too confusing. Thus, a mole makes it easier to know how much of a certain chemical there is. The mole today is widely credited to the discovery of Avogadro's number, the number of particles in one mole of any substance. Italian physicist, Amedeo Avogadro, was a lawyer, but later got interested in physics and became a scientist. Avogadro was the first person to propose the idea of molecules. He based much his work on the earlier discovery by Joseph Gay-Lussac that gases combine with each other in simple, whole-number ratios of volumes. For example, one liter of oxygen combines with two liters of hydrogen to make two liters of water vapor. Avogadro argued that this discovery could be proved if it was assumed one liter of gas contained the same amount of particles as any other liter of gas. The next question that arose was, "Then how many particles are in one liter of gas?" Avogadro never devoted significant time to answering this question. In 1865, for example, the German physicist J. Loschmidt estimated the number of molecules in a liter of gas to be 2.7 × 10^22. The accepted value today is 6.02 x 10^23.  

As stated earlier, moles are important to chemistry because they provide a means for measuring the amounts of a certain chemical in a logical and universal manner. In a chemical reaction, moles can be used to determine the amount of a certain chemical needed or the amount that will be produced. There is 1 mole of atoms in the atomic mass of an element when that mass is expressed in grams. Given the mass of a an element in grams, division by the molar mass of the element to get the total moles. Given the particles of an element, it takes division by Avogadro's number to get the amount of moles.

Information collected from the following sources:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-was-avogadros-number 
http://science.jrank.org/pages/697/Avogadro-s-Number.html 
http://web.vu.union.edu/~stodolan/mole.html 
http://www.chemistry.co.nz/avogadro.htm

Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles

Biogeochemical cycles are the movements of matter between Earth's different spheres. The statement that these cycles implies that they are all interconnected. Whether that may be the water, nitrogen or oxygen cycle, each is affected by a change or altering of the others. At the time the article, "Earth's Biogeochemical Cycles, Once in Concert, Falling Out of Sync" was written, scientists were preparing to convene at a meeting in which they would discuss coupled biogeochemical cycles (CBC) funding. "CBC is an emerging scientific discipline that looks at how Earth's biogeochemical cycles interact." Many scientists and researchers are beginning to look at the coupled cycles rather than sticking to them separately as their own entities. A prime example of this is the dead zone idea. Nitrogen-based fertilizers that are used in the cornfields of Iowa seep into the Mississipi River, and are carried down to the Gulf of Mexico. There, the nitrogen stimulates an algae growth. Upon the algae dieing, their decomposition consumes oxygen making an area of water roughly the size of New Jersey inhospitable to animal life. A simple action that began in the nitrogen cycle could end up having a drastic effect in the oxygen cycle. All the biogeochemical cycles take place in the many environments of this world. Even the smallest changes in atmospheric composition or fertilizers used could end up affecting the other cycles and the environment in the end. There is so much more to learn about the cycles and their relations with each other than there would be to learn from them separately.

The cycles are like a machine; when one piece starts running off course, the other parts cant function properly making the machine ineffective.