In the Old English poem Beowulf, what are some examples of Beowulf's superior strength?

Beowulf does a number of things in the epic Beowulf that show just how great his strength is.

The most dramatic act, and the one that stays with most people, is when he tears the arm off the monster Grendel, who has killed a lot of people. He doesn't use any weapons, but does this with his bare hands.  That's extremely strong.

There are other examples too though. Well before the encounter with Grendel, Beowulf went swimming--and carried his sword in one hand! Since he was swimming in order to fight sea creatures, he was also wearing mail. It's hard enough to swim in waves naked. To do it in clothes, with one hand holding a weapon, and wearing armor must mean he's very strong. Add to that the fact that he swam for five straight days and nights, and you have some sense of just how strong Beowulf was. He topped off his swim by driving his sword into some of the sea creatures, killing nine sea monsters.

What arguments does Lady Macbeth use to convince Macbeth to commit the murder?

Throughout the play, it is Lady Macbeth who plans and urges her husband to kill King Duncan. In Act One, Scene 7, Macbeth agonizes about whether he can kill Duncan and doesn't feel like his ambition is worth committing regicide. Shortly after, Lady Macbeth enters and Macbeth tells her that he cannot go through with the murder. She then begins to question his manhood and asks Macbeth if he is a coward. Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that if he follows through with the plan, he will be considered more than a man. She also makes Macbeth feel ashamed by telling him that if she had known he was such a coward, she would have "dashed" their baby's brains out. Macbeth then considers the possibility of failure, but Lady Macbeth quiets his concerns by assuring him that if he has courage they won't fail. She goes on to explain the plan which includes framing Duncan's two chamberlains then acting like they grieve Duncan's death. Lady Macbeth finally succeeds in giving her husband confidence to go through with murdering Duncan. 

Why do transition metals (besides iron) have variable valences?

Transition metals are located in the d-block of the periodic table of elements. There are a total of 38 transition metals and they are present in groups 3 to 12, located in the center of the periodic table. Transition metals (including iron) show multiple valence states or oxidation states. The reason for this is the presence of a d-orbital, which is absent from alkali and alkaline earth metals. Transition elements have d orbitals in addition to s orbitals. These orbitals are very close in energy to each other. The atom has the option of losing electrons from both the s and d orbitals. For example, in the case of iron, there are two electrons in the 4s orbital and 6 electrons in the 3d orbital. An iron atom could lose the two electrons from the 4s orbital and show +2 valency or lose an additional electron from the 3d orbital (and have higher stability due to five 3d orbitals, each containing 1 electron) and exhibit a valence of +3.

Hope this helps. 

In Act 3, Bassanio engages the trial for Portia's hand in marriage. What rationale does he employ to make a decision? What does this rational...

During the trial established by Portia's father, Bassanio sifts the choices by acting upon the premise that appearances mislead.

When musing over the gold and silver, he compares their flashy exterior to the sophistic arts that are applied in the fields of legal and religious debate:

In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt / But, being seasoned with a gracious voice, / Obscures the show of evil? In religion, / What damned error but some sober brow / Will bless it, and approve it with a text, / Hiding the grossness with fair ornament? (3.2.75-80)

Bassanio will go on to extend this meditation on pretexts by considering the beard men grow to appear wise.

Thus, he takes as his rationale the proposition that all flashy displays are deceitful. From this premise he is able to conclude that he ought to choose the lead casket. This reasoning shows him to be a man skeptical of appearances and who applies a syllogistic reasoning process when making decisions.

Is there alliteration in Tangerine by Edward Bloor? If so, on which page?

Sure, we can find some alliteration in this novel. But it's likely to be accidental on the part of the author.

Generally, we look for alliteration in poetry, or in poetic prose, especially in works meant to be enjoyed aloud like plays and speeches. Alliteration is a sound device in which the writer repeats the beginning sounds of words on purpose, in order to grab our attention, add emphasis, make phrases memorable, add rhythm, and so on. For example, "weak and weary" is a phrase featuring alliteration in the line "As I pondered, weak and weary" in Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven."

If you look inside the novel Tangerine, you'll find alliteration in lines like "too many times" (page 11) and "The smoke was thick and strong smelling" (page 33) and "sick to my soul" (page 206). 

However, these examples may not reflect a purposeful use of alliteration by the author. Bloor's narrator in the story, Paul, has a straightforward, factual style of expressing actions and feelings. That's why it's more likely that anything alliterative he says in his narration is just a coincidence rather than an attempt at being poetic. After all, there are only so many sounds in the English language, so it's natural for us to find repetitions of them within even short phrases and sentences.

Please give a short explanation of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day period during October 1962 in which the United States and the Soviet Union were on the brink of nuclear warfare. The Soviet Union had secretly begun stockpiling nuclear missiles on Cuba, and an American spy plane photographed these missile sites.

President John F. Kennedy and his advisors decided the best course of action was to place a naval blockade around Cuba to stop the Russians from bringing more supplies to Cuba. The Americans refused to remove the blockade until the Soviets destroyed the missile sites.

Many people feared the Soviet Union would respond by shooting a nuclear missile at the United States; the United States would respond in kind, causing a global nuclear catastrophe. Thankfully, this did not happen. The Americans and Soviets reached an agreement; the Soviets would destroy the missile sites and the Americans would leave Cuba alone. Nuclear warfare was averted.

What does the Ghost of Christmas Past tell Scrooge?

The Ghost of Christmas Past visits Scrooge in the second part of "A Christmas Carol." When they first meet, the ghost tells Scrooge that he represents Scrooge's past, not the past in general, and that his visit is prompted by concern for Scrooge's welfare. What is most interesting about this opening conversation is that the ghost appears able to read Scrooge's thoughts. Internally, for example, Scrooge mocks the ghost's reason for visiting, believing that a night of unbroken sleep would have a more positive effect on his welfare. As if by telepathy, the ghost retorts that it is more a question of Scrooge's "reclamation" than of welfare.

The course of the ghost's visit continues along this theme. The ghost shows Scrooge painful memories of his childhood and formative years and appears to know the people from Scrooge's past intimately. Of his sister, Fanny, for instance, the ghost comments on her "large heart," a sentiment which Scrooge shares. 

The pair continue their journey through Scrooge's past. After seeing Belle, Scrooge's former fiancée, Scrooge asks the ghost to take him away from these memories, to which the ghost replies:

"I told you these were shadows of the things that have been,'' said the Ghost. "That they are what they are, do not blame me!''

Here, the ghost tells Scrooge something of crucial importance: that the present-day Scrooge is the product of these early experiences and that the only way to heal the pain of the past is to reform today. This message is so powerful that it begins the process of transformation in Scrooge, forcing him to accept how his actions have impacted the lives of others. This, then, is the foundation of Scrooge's reformation, which is steadily developed over his next two encounters.