Beach,+Matthew1

The structural formula for nicotine is C10H14N2 and it is mainly found in the “nightshade” family of plants as an alkaloid. In tobacco plants, it makes about 0.6 to 3.0% of the plant and is created in the roots with a process called biosynthesis. Nicotine is able to function as an anti-herbivore chemical with high effect on insects; which is why it was used in the past as an insecticide. Today, nicotine is mainly used as a stimulant in cigarettes with about 1 mg of absorbed nicotine. It is also the main reason why smoking tobacco is addictive and causes dependence on it. Comparatively, nicotine addiction is often similar to heroin and cocaine addiction and is considered one of the hardest additions to break. Over the years, nicotine use in cigarettes has increased 1.6% annually for the past decade. Chemically speaking, nicotine is a hygroscopic, oil-like liquid that is miscible in water when in base form. Nicotine can become a nitrogenous base that reacts with acid to form water-soluble salts. It also penetrates the skin with ease; which is why it is used in a patch form for those trying to break an addiction from it. It combusts at a temperature of 308 K. Which is why most of the nicotine in cigarettes is burned before it can enter one’s lungs but enough is absorbed to give the desired effect. It is possible to overdose on nicotine especially considering that a lethal dose in humans in 40-60 mg. It can be used in many forms including cigarettes, patches, gum, lozenges, and electronic cigarettes. And, unfortunately for smokers, myriads of diseases can occur in users of tobacco products due to nicotine's addictive properties. In terms of physical properties, its density is 1.01 g/cubic cm., its melting point is -79 °C, and its boiling point is 247 °C.





Works Cited

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine http://www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=cigarettes&oe=UTF-8&safe=active&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

I liked how you included two models of your compound, 2-D and 3-D. I thought it was interesting that nicotine was also used as an insecticide, I did not know that before. Maybe you could have included the properties in a table instead of combining all your information in one huge paragraph. Adding a title or some heading would make the page more appealing as well. sk