Morality of the Law essays

Morality of the Law essays Civil disobedience is the resistance to unjust laws. Henry David Thoreau sparked this revelation when he wrote Civil Disobedience. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used many of the ideas of Thoreau to expand on the ideas of civil disobedience when he wrote Letter From Birmingham City Jail. Henry David Thoreau and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. both used civil disobedience as a way to improve the law and require society to abide by higher morals, but in todays society civil disobedience is used solely to change unjust laws while society lowers their moral standards to that of the law. Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience in response to the American involvement in the Mexican War as well as the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. He viewed them both as immoral and wrong and he believed that if the law is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law (Thoreau). Thoreau felt this agent of injustice to be America against Mexico in the Mexican War, as well as the slaveholder against his or her slaves by the Fugitive Slave Act. He went so far as to reject the United States government as his government by saying I cannot for an instance recognize that political organization as my government which is the slaves government also (Thoreau). Thoreau also said under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison (Thoreau). This belief that one must break an unjust law and accept the punishment is the main tenet of civil disobedience. Thoreau also said that one must take direct action for change to take place. One must cast [their] whole vote, not just a strip of paper merely, but your whole influence (Thoreau). Thoreau is saying that one cannot just think of doing right, or even believe it. They must take direct action. Only through direct act...

Predicting Formulas of Ionic Compounds Example Problem

Predicting Formulas of Ionic Compounds Example Problem This problem demonstrates how to predict the molecular formulas of ionic compounds. Problem Predict the formulas of the ionic compounds formed by the following elements: lithium and oxygen (Li and O)nickel and sulfur (Ni and S)bismuth and fluorine (Bi and F)magnesium and chlorine (Mg and Cl) Solution First, look at the locations of the elements on the periodic table. Atoms in the same column as each other (group) tend to exhibit similar characteristics, including the number of electrons the elements would need to gain or lose to resemble the nearest noble gas atom. To determine common ionic compounds formed by elements, keep the following in mind: Group I ions (alkali metals) have 1 charges.Group 2 ions (alkaline earth metals) have 2 charges.Group 6 ions (nonmetals) have -2 charges.Group 7 ions (halides) have -1 charges.There is no simple way to predict the charges of the transition metals. Look at a table listing charges (valences) for possible values. For introductory and general chemistry courses, the 1, 2, and 3 charges are most often used. When you write the formula for an ionic compound, remember that the positive ion is always listed first. Write down the information you have for the usual charges of the atoms and balance them to answer the problem. Lithium has a 1 charge and oxygen has a -2 charge, therefore2 Li ions are required to balance 1 O2- ion.Nickel  has a charge of 2 and sulfur has a -2 charge, therefore1 Ni 2 ion is required to balance 1 S2- ion.Bismuth has a 3 charge and Fluorine has a -1 charge, therefore1 Bi3 ion is required to balance 3 F- ions.Magnesium has a 2 charge and chlorine has a -1 charge, therefore1 Mg2 ion is required to balance 2 Cl- ions. Answer Li2ONiSBiF3MgCl2 The charges listed above for atoms within groups are the common charges, but you should be aware that the elements sometimes take on different charges. See the table of the valences of the elements for a list of the charges that the elements have been known to assume.