1. Homework letter 3-16-14

2. Nickel is a widely known word and element. This could be due to the fact that it is the name of a coin, or that it is used in many things that are very popular with society, such as jewelry. Without further ado, here is my homework letter on nickel, based on the book The Elements by Theodore Gray.

3. This is basically an introduction paragraph. It doesn’t have much new information in it, so it’s not really important to this section. I wonder if Theodore Gray could have squeezed it in with another paragraph. “Nickel is widely used in coins, as reflected by the fact that there is a U.S. coin called “a nickel,” without further qualification, making the word “nickel” an element and a denomination. And that’s information I wouldn’t give you a nickel for.

4. “Pure nickel is everywhere in daily life. It’s plated over iron to prevent rust, and over brass to make it colorless rather than yellow. Huge quantities are used to plate automobile bumpers. Because of it’s high value, the metal is stored in special warehouses under armed guard before being applied to the bumpers. (About a pound is plated onto each bumper, worth between $5 and $25 depending on the highly fluctuating market price of nickel.)” Hmmmm…. I don’t think this paragraph has any outright fact in it, but has disguised some in fun, carefree but careful ways. I would of not included so much off topic things, like how much nickel is put on a bumper, and where nickel is stored when it’s getting ready to be put on a bumper.

5. “Sometimes, but not always, the nickel layer is covered with a thinner layer of chromium. Plain nickel plating is found in utilitarian applications because the layer of chrome affects only the appearance, giving it a brighter, more perfectly mirror like shine than nickel. Rustproofing is provided entirely by the nickel layer. “ This is still on the topic of cars! Sure, it has a hazy description of chrome, which gives you a hazy and slightly blotchy image of nickel, but hello? Facts? This paragraph is not needed in the section on nickel.

6. “Nickel is also a component of stainless steels, and more exotically it is a key ingredient in the nickel-iron superalloys used in jet engines. These superalloys maintain high strength even at very high temperatures, for example in the exhaust gas path of a jet engine. Titanium can be (and is) used in cooler parts of the engine, because of it’s lighter weight; but for the truly hellish jobs, nickel-iron alloys are the metals of choice.” Well, this paragraph could be a WHOLE lot skinnier if you just pulled out the facts. I’m noticing that compared to the other elements section’s, nickel doesn’t have any facts at all. This paragraph is basically, comparing jet engine alloys made of nickel-iron to ones made of titanium. 

7. “U.S. nickel coins are actually only about 25 percent nickel; the rest is copper, historically the most popular coinage metal of them all.” I like that this paragraph is a solid fact… but it is only partially about nickel. But, I would have added an actual concluding paragraph to the end that would say something like ‘With nickels wide reputation, it has made it’s mark on the world as a solid element.’

8. Nickel was a distant section, but it still had the fun, playful demeanor as the others. I enjoyed learning about this popular element. Love, Nicole P