Simply put, the mole represents a number.

Just as the term dozen refers to the number twelve, the

mole represents the number 6.02 x 1023. (If you're confused by the form of this number refer to
our The Metric System module).

Now that's a big number! While a dozen eggs will make a nice omelet, a mole of eggs will fill all
of the oceans on earth more than 30 million times over. Think about it: It would take 10 billion
chickens laying 10 eggs per day more than 10 billion years to lay a mole of eggs. So why would
we ever use such a big number? Certainly the local donut store is not going to "supersize" your
dozen by giving you a mole of jelly-filled treats.

The mole is used when we're talking about numbers of atoms and molecules. Atoms and
molecules are very tiny things. A drop of water the size of the period at the end of this sentence
would contain 10 trillion water molecules. Instead of talking about trillions and quadrillions of
molecules (and more), it's much simpler to use the mole.

History of the mole

The number of objects in one mole, that is, 6.02 x 1023, is commonly referred to as Avogadro's
number. Amedeo Avogadro was an Italian physics professor who proposed in 1811 that equal
volumes of different gases at the same temperature contain equal numbers of molecules. About
fifty years later, an Italian scientist named Stanislao Cannizzaro used Avogadro's hypothesis to
develop a set of atomic weights for the known elements by comparing the masses of equal
volumes of gas. Building on this work, an Austrian high school teacher named Johann Josef
Loschmidt calculated the size of a molecule of air in 1865, and thus developed an estimate for
the number of molecules in a given volume of air. While these early estimates have since been
refined, they led to the concept of the mole - that is, the theory that in a defined mass of an
element (its atomic weight) there is a precise number of atoms: Avogadro's number.

Comprehension Checkpoint

Avogadro is known for

proposing that equal volumes of gases at the same temperature contain the same number
of molecules.

describing the atomic weights of elements by comparing equal volumes of gas.

Molar mass
A sample of any element with a mass equal to that element's atomic weight (in grams) will
contain precisely one mole of atoms (6.02 x 1023 atoms). For example, helium has an atomic
weight of 4.00. Therefore, 4.00 grams of helium will contain one mole of helium atoms. You
can also work with fractions (or multiples) of moles:
 Mole/weight relationship
examples using helium
moles # helium grams
helium atoms helium
1/4 1.505 x 1023 1g
1/2 3.01 x 1023 2g
1 6.02 x 1023 4g
2 1.204 x 1024 8g
10 6.02 x 1024 40 g

Other atomic weights are listed on the periodic table (see our Periodic Table module). For each
element listed, measuring out a quantity of the element equal to its atomic weight in grams will
yield 6.02 x 1023 atoms of that element.

The atomic weight of an element identifies both the mass of one mole of that element and the
total number of protons and neutrons in an atom of that element. How can that be? Let's look at
hydrogen. One mole of hydrogen atoms will weigh 1.01 grams.

Figure 2: a hydrogen atom with its single electron

Each hydrogen atom consists of one proton surrounded by one electron. But remember, the
electron weighs so little that it does not contribute much to an atom's weight. Ignoring the weight
of hydrogen's electrons, we can say that one mole of protons (H nuclei) weighs approximately
one gram. Since protons and neutrons have about the same mass, a mole of either of these
particles will weigh about one gram. For example, in one mole of helium, there are two moles of
protons and two moles of neutrons - four grams of particles.

Comprehension Checkpoint

The atomic weight of an element reflects the total number of _______________ in an atom of
that element.

protons and electrons

protons and neutrons

Molecular weight
If you stand on a scale with a friend, the scale will register the combined weight of both you and
your friend. When atoms form molecules, the atoms bond together, and the molecule's weight is
the combined weight of all of its parts.

For example, every water molecule (H2O) has two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen.
One mole of water molecules will contain two moles of hydrogen and one mole of oxygen.

Mole/weight relationships
of water and its parts
2 moles 1 mole 1 mole
hydrogen oxygen water

+ =

A bottle filled with exactly 18.02 g water will contain 6.02 x 1023 water molecules. The concept
of fractions and multiples described above also applies to molecules: 9.01 g of water would
contain 1/2 mole, or 3.01 x 1023 molecules. You can calculate the molecular weight of any
compound simply by summing the weights of atoms that make up that compound.

Summary

This module introduces the mole, a unit of measurement for quantifying atoms and molecules.
The module describes 19th century developments that led to the concept of the mole, also known
as Avogadros number, or 6.02 x 1023. Molar mass is explained, and examples of mole/weight
relationships are presented. In addition, the module shows how to calculate molecular weight.
Mole Concept

Photo by: Anar Musayev

In chemistry the mole is a fundamental unit in the Systme International d'Units, the SI system,

and it is used to measure the amount of substance. This quantity is sometimes referred to as the

chemical amount. In Latin mole means a "massive heap" of material. It is convenient to think of

a chemical mole as such.

Visualizing a mole as a pile of particles, however, is just one way to understand this concept. A

sample of a substance has a mass, volume (generally used with gases), and number of particles

that is proportional to the chemical amount (measured in moles) of the sample. For example, one
mole of oxygen gas (O 2 ) occupies a volume of 22.4 L at standard temperature and pressure

(STP; 0C and 1 atm), has a mass of 31.998 grams, and contains about 6.022 10 23 molecules of

oxygen. Measuring one of these quantities allows the calculation of the others and this is

frequently done in stoichiometry.

The mole is to the amount of substance (or chemical amount) as the gram is to mass. Like other

units of the SI system, prefixes can be used with the mole, so it is permissible to refer to 0.001

mol as 1 mmol just as 0.001 g is equivalent to 1 mg.

Formal Definition

According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Fourteenth

Confrence Gnrale des Poids et Mesures established the definition of the mole in 1971.

The mole is the amount of a substance of a system which contains as many elementary entities as

there are atoms in 0.012 kilogram of carbon-12; its symbol is "mol." When the mole is used, the

elementary entities must be specified and may be atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, other

particles, or specified groups of such particles.

One Interpretation: A Specific Number of Particles

When a quantity of particles is to be described, mole is a grouping unit analogous to groupings

such as pair, dozen, or gross, in that all of these words represent specific numbers of objects. The

main differences between the mole and the other grouping units are the magnitude of the number

represented and how that number is obtained. One mole is an amount of substance containing

Avogadro's number of particles. Avogadro's number is equal to

602,214,199,000,000,000,000,000 or more simply, 6.02214199 10 23 .

Unlike pair, dozen, and gross, the exact number of particles in a mole cannot be counted. There

are several reasons for this. First, the particles are too small and cannot be seen even with a

microscope. Second, as naturally occurring carbon contains approximately 98.90% carbon-12,

the sample would need to be purified to remove every atom of carbon-13 and carbon-14. Third,

as the number of particles in a mole is tied to the mass of exactly 12 grams of carbon-12, a

balance would need to be constructed that could determine if the sample was one atom over or

under exactly 12 grams. If the first two requirements were met, it would take one million

machines counting one million atoms each second more than 19,000 years to complete the task.

Obviously, if the number of particles in a mole cannot be counted, the value must be measured

indirectly and with every measurement there is some degree of uncertainty. Therefore, the

number of particles in a mole, Avogadro's constant ( N A ), can only be approximated through

experimentation, and thus its reported values will vary slightly (at the tenth decimal place) based

on the measurement method used. Most methods agree to four significant figures, so N A is

generally said to equal 6.022 10 23 particles per mole, and this value is usually sufficient for

solving textbook problems. Another key point is that the formal definition of a mole does not

include a value for Avogadro's constant and this is probably due to the inherent uncertainty in its

measurement. As for the difference between Avogadro's constant and Avogadro's number, they

are numerically equivalent, but the former has the unit of mol 1 whereas the latter is a pure

number with no unit.

A Second Interpretation: A Specific Mass

Atoms and molecules are incredibly small and even a tiny chemical sample contains an

unimaginable number of them. Therefore, counting the number of atoms or molecules in a

sample is impossible. The multiple interpretations of the mole allow us to bridge the gap between

the submicroscopic world of atoms and molecules and the macroscopic world that we can

observe.

To determine the chemical amount of a sample, we use the substance's molar mass, the mass per

mole of particles. We will use carbon-12 as an example because it is the standard for the formal

definition of the mole. According to the definition, one mole of carbon-12 has a mass of exactly

12 grams. Consequently, the molar mass of carbon-12 is 12 g/mol. However, the molar mass for

the element carbon is 12.011 g/mol. Why are they different? To answer that question, a few terms

need to be clarified.

On the Periodic Table, you will notice that most of the atomic weights listed are not round

numbers. The atomic weight is a weighted average of the atomic masses of an element's natural

isotopes. For example, bromine has two natural isotopes with atomic masses of 79 u and 81 u.

The unit u represents the atomic mass unit and is used in place of grams because the value would

be inconveniently small. These two isotopes of bromine are present in nature in almost equal

amounts, so the atomic weight of the element bromine is 79.904. (i.e., nearly 80, the arithmetic

mean of 79 and 81). A similar situation exists for chlorine, but chlorine-35 is almost three times

as abundant as chlorine-37, so the atomic weight of chlorine is 35.4527. Technically, atomic

weights are ratios of the average atomic mass to the unit u and that is why they do not have units.

Sometimes atomic weights are given the unit u , but this is not quite correct according to the

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

To find the molar mass of an element or compound, determine the atomic, molecular, or formula

weight and express that value as g/mol. For bromine and chlorine, the molar masses are 79.904
g/mol and 35.4527 g/mol, respectively. Sodium chloride (NaCl) has a formula weight of 58.443

(atomic weight of Na + atomic weight of Cl) and a molar mass of 58.443 g/mol. Formaldehyde

(CH 2 O) has a molecular weight of 30.03 (atomic weight of C + 2 [atomic weight of H]) +

atomic weight of O] and a molar mass of 30.03 g/mol.

The concept of molar mass enables chemists to measure the number of submicroscopic particles

in a sample without counting them directly simply by determining the chemical amount of a

sample. To find the chemical amount of a sample, chemists measure its mass and divide by its

molar mass. Multiplying the chemical amount (in moles) by Avogadro's constant ( N A ) yields

the number of particles present in the sample.

Occasionally, one encounters gram-atomic mass (GAM), gram-formula mass (GFM), and gram-

molecular mass (GMM). These terms are functionally the same as molar mass. For example, the

GAM of an element is the mass in grams of a sample containing N A atoms and is equal to the

element's atomic weight expressed in grams. GFM and GMM are defined similarly. Other terms

you may encounter are formula mass and molecular mass. Interpret these as formula weight and

molecular weight, respectively, but with the units of u.

Avogadro's Hypothesis

Some people think that Amedeo Avogadro (17761856) determined the number of particles in a

mole and that is why the quantity is known as Avogadro's number. In reality Avogadro built a

theoretical foundation for determining accurate atomic and molecular masses. The concept of a

mole did not even exist in Avogadro's time.

Much of Avogadro's work was based on that of Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac (17781850). Gay-

Lussac developed the law of combining volumes that states: "In any chemical reaction involving

gaseous substances the volumes of the various gases reacting or produced are in the ratios of

small whole numbers." (Masterton and Slowinski, 1977, p. 105) Avogadro reinterpreted Gay-

Lussac's findings and proposed in 1811 that (1) some molecules were diatomic and (2) "equal

volumes of all gases at the same temperature and pressure contain the same number of

molecules" (p. 40). The second proposal is what we refer to as Avogadro's hypothesis.

The hypothesis provided a simple method of determining relative molecular weights because

equal volumes of two different gases at the same temperature and pressure contained the same

number of particles, so the ratio of the masses of the gas samples must also be that of their

particle masses. Unfortunately, Avogadro's hypothesis was largely ignored until Stanislao

Cannizzaro (18261910) advocated using it to calculate relative atomic masses or atomic

weights. Soon after the 1 st International Chemical Congress at Karlsrule in 1860, Cannizzaro's

proposal was accepted and a scale of atomic weights was established.

To understand how Avogadro's hypothesis can be used to determine relative atomic and

molecular masses, visualize two identical boxes with oranges in one and grapes in the other. The

exact number of fruit in each box is not known, but you believe that there are equal numbers of

fruit in each box (Avogadro's hypothesis). After subtracting the masses of the boxes, you have

the masses of each fruit sample and can determine the mass ratio between the oranges and the

grapes. By assuming that there are equal numbers of fruit in each box, you then know the

average mass ratio between a grape and an orange, so in effect you have calculated their relative
masses (atomic masses). If you chose either the grape or the orange as a standard, you could

eventually determine a scale of relative masses for all fruit.

A Third Interpretation: A Specific Volume

By extending Avogadro's hypothesis, there is a specific volume of gas that contains N A gas

particles for a given temperature and pressure and that volume should be the same for all gases.

For an ideal gas, the volume of one mole at STP (0C and 1.000 atm) is 22.41 L, and several real

gases (hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen) come very close to this value.

The Size of Avogadro's Number

To provide some idea of the enormity of Avogadro's number, consider some examples.

Avogadro's number of water drops (twenty drops per mL) would fill a rectangular column of

water 9.2 km (5.7 miles) by 9.2 km (5.7 miles) at the base and reaching to the moon at perigee

(closest distance to Earth). Avogadro's number of water drops would cover the all of the land in

the United States to a depth of roughly 3.3 km (about 2 miles). Avogadro's number of pennies

placed in a rectangular stack roughly 6 meters by 6 meters at the base would stretch for about 9.4

10 12 km and extend outside our solar system. It would take light nearly a year to travel from

one end of the stack to the other.

History

Long before the mole concept was developed, there existed the idea of chemical equivalency in

that specific amounts of various substances could react in a similar manner and to the same

extent with another substance. Note that the historical equivalent is not the same as its modern

counterpart, which involves electric charge. Also, the historical equivalent is not the same as a
mole, but the two concepts are related in that they both indicate that different masses of two

substances can react with the same amount of another substance.

The idea of chemical equivalents was stated by Henry Cavendish in 1767, clarified by Jeremias

Richter in 1795, and popularized by William Wollaston in 1814. Wollaston applied the concept to

elements and defined it in such a way that one equivalent of an element corresponded to its

atomic mass. Thus, when Wollaston's equivalent is expressed in grams, it is identical to a mole. It

is not surprising then that the word "mole" is derived from "molekulargewicht" (German,

meaning "molecular weight") and was coined in 1901 or 1902.

Read more: http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Ma-Na/Mole-Concept.html#ixzz4ecvLeZoG

Mole Conversion Tips for Chemistry

Related Book

Chemistry Workbook For Dummies, 2nd Edition

By Peter J. Mikulecky, Chris Hren

Part of Chemistry Workbook For Dummies Cheat Sheet

In a general chemistry class, you usually end up having to perform a lot of conversions involving

moles (mol). Whether youre converting from moles to grams, moles to volume, or moles to

particles (atoms or molecules), use this quick guide to remind you of how to do each type of

mole conversion:

Converting from mass (grams) to moles: Divide your initial mass by the molar mass of

the compound as determined by the periodic table.

Converting from moles to mass (grams): Multiply your initial mole value by the molar

mass of the compound as determined by the periodic table.

Converting from volume (liters) to moles: Divide your initial volume by the molar

volume constant, 22.4 L.

 Converting from moles to volume (liters): Multiply your mole value by the molar

volume constant, 22.4L.

Converting from particles (atoms, molecules, or formula units) to moles: Divide your

particle value by Avogadros number, 6.021023. Remember to use parentheses on your

calculator!

Converting from moles to particles (atoms, molecules, or formula units): Multiply

your mole value by Avogadros number, 6.021023.

Mole-to-mole conversions: Use the coefficients from your balanced equation to

determine your conversion factor. Be sure your units cancel out so you end up with the

correct mole value.