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NITROGEN
Name: Nitrogen Atomic Number: 7 Atomic Symbol: N Atomic Weight: 14.00674 Atomic Radius: 71 pm Melting Point: - 210.00 °C Boiling Point: -195.79 °C Density: 1.251 g/l Name Origin: Greek Discovery: Nitrogen was discovered by chemist and physician Daniel Rutherford in 1772!

Characteristics of Nitrogen: Nitrogen is a colourless, odourless, tasteless and inert gas and presents a particular danger of asphyxiation, In sudden and acute asphyxia, such as that from inhalation of a gas containing practically no oxygen, unconsciousness is immediate. The person falls as if they have received a nasty blow on the head and may die in a few minutes, unless immediate remedial action is taken. This is because when a human breathes in pure nitrogen they breathe out the carbon dioxide without resupplying oxygen, this then leads to the painful and traumatic feeling of suffocation!! Nitrogen is generally a reliable dry gas, which is economic, safe (when handled properly) and chemically not moving with most metals and materials!

Importance In the body:

Nitrogen is just about everywhere in the human body. Nitrogen is an element present in all amino acids. Amino acids join together in a chain called a protein molecule. Muscle is made of protein molecules, enzymes are protein molecules, messenger hormones are protein molecules, & cell walls have protein receptor molecules in them. In fact, Nitrogen is the key element in amino acids which form protein. protein is the main nutrient for a variety of bodily tissues, many of which support muscle growth (enzymes, skin, hair, nails, bones, and connective tissue are all constructed from protein). Protein makes up 15-20% of ones bodyweight. The inescapable fact remains: protein, and only protein, is the raw material from which muscle and many other bodily tissues are built. Proteins themselves are formed from the amino acids, of which there are 20, comprised of both essential and non-essential. This means that without nitrogen, our bodies would not have enough protein and without protein our body cannot function properly. Our body's nerves, tissues and our bones all are made up of proteins. So proteins become very necessary for them to grow and repair. It also used to produce some hormones and enzymes in our body.

Other intresting information: The proces of nitrogen being fixed, used by plants and animals, and later returned to the atmosphere is referred to as the nitrogen cycle! The picture below shows us this cycle. First the nitrogen satrts in the animal proteins, then when the animal dies they decay and turn to a bacteria, where the nitrogen gets used by the trees and plants. This then repeats!
 * Nitrogen is the most abundant element in our planet’s atmosphere.
 * Approximately 78% of the atmosphere is comprised of this important element!!
 * This element is especially important to plant life.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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 * The Guinness Encyclpedia of Science 1991, world book inc, Italy volume 1 pg 206