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How to Find Mols of Solution

Written By Friday, December 3, 2021 Add Comment Edit

Introduction

The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) has proposed to revise the International System of Units (SI) so that all of its base units will be defined by "explicit-constant" formulations. (1) Draft definitions for the "new SI" (2) of two units in particular have received scrutiny from chemists, namely, the mole and the kilogram. For example, the ACS Committee on Nomenclature, Terminology, and Symbols has been monitoring proposals on these units for several years, sponsoring symposia on the subject at national meetings and publishing comments in Chemical and Engineering News. (3, 4)

This article focuses on the current definition of the mole, (5) as well as the definition contained in the 2013 draft brochure of the new SI, (2) with an eye toward teaching the mole in introductory chemistry classes. Some current textbooks are examined for how they teach about the mole in order to compare the official definition to current educational practice. In order to put the likely effects of the proposed change into historical perspective, a comparison is made to effects from an earlier major change in SI for chemists, namely, the inclusion of the mole as an SI base unit in 1971.

The Mole in Current Textbooks

The mole is key content in every introductory chemistry textbook, and teaching the mole is a perennial subject in chemistry education. The current official definition of the mole reads (5)

The mole is the amount of 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".

Here is the definition given in the 2013 draft of the new SI: (2)

The mole, symbol mol, is the SI unit of amount of substance of a specified elementary entity, which may be an atom, molecule, ion, electron, any other particle or a specified group of such particles; its magnitude is set by fixing the numerical value of the Avogadro constant to be exactly 6.022 141 29 × 1023 when it is expressed in the SI unit mol–1.

Now let us have a look at how the mole is defined in the glossaries of some recent textbooks (presumably under the influence of the current SI):

•

Gilbert et al. ("2015"): Their definition looks more like the new SI than the old, although the terminology is not exactly the same as either: "an amount of material (atoms, ions, or molecules) that contains Avogadro's number (6) (N A = 6.022 × 1023) of particles." (7)
•

Tro (2011) is quite similar: "A unit defined as the amount of material containing 6.0221421 × 1023 (Avogadro's number) particles." (8)
•

Silberberg (2013) uses the current SI definition: "The SI base unit for amount of a substance. The amount that contains a number of objects equal to the number of atoms in exactly 12 g of carbon-12 (which is 6.022 × 1023)." (9)

The treatment within the body of a textbook includes examples, and relates the mole to mass as well as number of entities. Here is how Nivaldo Tro introduces the topic in the body of his textbook, in a section titled "The Mole: A Chemist's 'Dozen'": (8)

A mole is the amount (10) of material containing 6.02214 × 1023 particles.

1 mol = 6.02214 × 1023 particles

This number is also called Avogadro's number...

... Notice that the definition of the mole is an amount of substance. We will often refer to the number of moles of substance as the amount of the substance.

This passage refers to amount of substance, which officially is the name of the quantity of which mole is the base unit. It does not, however, treat amount of substance as a technical term, but rather as an explanatory phrase: "Notice that" it is "an" amount. The section goes on to emphasize that the mole can specify Avogadro's number of anything.

The next paragraph says (8)

The second, and more fundamental, thing to understand about the mole is how it gets its specific value.

The value of the mole is equal to the number of atoms in exactly 12 grams of pure carbon-12 (12 g C = 1 mol C atoms = 6.022 × 1023 C atoms).

Here some of the language of the current SI definition is incorporated. But the wording of the sentence that refers to carbon-12 speaks tellingly about "the value of the mole", practically equating the unit with Avogadro's number.

Comparing the draft definition of the mole to current textbook treatments suggests two implications:

1.

Textbook definitions of the mole as a definite number of elementary entities—already common—would appear closer to the new, proposed official SI definition, even if textbooks retain explicit-unit formulations and continue to refer to Avogadro's number.
2.

The draft retains a stumbling block to understanding, the term amount of substance.

A Look Back: The Mole Enters SI

The expectation that textbooks of the future will not change their definitions of the mole very much in response to the change in the SI definition is based partly on the fact that the draft SI is in some respects closer than the current definition to what many textbooks have already. But it is also based on the fact that textbooks did not greatly change how they introduced the mole over the years.

Consider textbook definitions from before the inclusion of the mole into the SI. The term and unit mole had been in use in chemistry since roughly the start of the 20th century; (11) however, it was incorporated into the SI as a base unit, along with the base quantity amount of substance only in 1971. The following statements are all from textbooks published in the 1960s:

•

Selwood (1964): "The word 'mole' is a collective noun like flock (of birds) or galaxy (of stars). But mole has the added meaning of a very definite number of particles, namely, Avogadro's number." (12)
•

Andrews & Kokes (1965): "... the weight of a single molecule in atomic mass units is the same, numerically, as the weight of a mole in grams. The mole is a convenient package, like a dozen or a gross; but numerically it is much larger." A footnote contains something closer to what would be adopted as the SI definition: "A mole is a number equal to the number of atoms in exactly twelve grams of C12 (6.02252 × 1023)..." (13, 14)
•

Kask (1969): "The number, 6.02 × 1023, is known as a mole. This number is also known as Avogadro's number..." (15)

Compare the above definitions to the following, from textbooks of the late 1970s and early 1980s, several years after the inclusion of the mole into the SI.

•

Masterton and Slowinski (1977): "In discussing mass relations in chemical reactions, we make frequent use of a quantity known as the mole. Depending upon the context in which the word 'mole' is used, it may refer to a specific number of particles or to a specific mass in grams. That is, it may represent: (1) Avogadro's number of items... (2) One gram formula weight of a substance..." (16)
•

Becker and Wentworth (1980): "So that we can ultimately give the relative masses of substances in units of grams, we define a mole (mol) as Avogadro's number (N) of particles. ... Thus a mole can be further defined as ... the quantity of a substance the mass of which is the atomic or molecular weight (including formula weight) in grams." (17)
•

Mortimer (1983) uses language very similar to the SI definition: "The amount of a substance that contains Avogadro's number [previously defined] of elementary units is called a mole (abbreviated mol), which is an SI base unit. The mole is defined as the amount of substance that contains as many elementary entities as there are atoms in exactly 12 g of carbon-12." (18)

Mortimer happens to be the last example selected from this time period, but I do not want to imply that eventually textbook authors followed his example and adopted the official SI definition; examining recent textbooks (as done above) shows that this is not the case. Indeed, this glimpse at how the mole has been described in textbooks over the past 50 years or so suggests that textbook authors have emphasized throughout that a mole contains a definite number of entities. If the draft definition of the mole in the "new SI" (2) is adopted, textbook definitions will likely resemble it more closely not because they will move toward the official definition but because the official definition will have moved closer to the textbooks (albeit not for pedagogical purposes).

Of Official Definitions and Textbooks

It may be that textbooks will not adapt to or reflect changes in official definitions of the SI. That would not necessarily be an unfortunate development. After all, official definitions

•

Are formal, not pedagogical, by design
•

Do not necessarily represent a consensus of relevant practitioners
•

Are not Platonic ideas coextensive with the things they define

Let us look more closely at these assertions in the light of current practices and a few examples from the pedagogical literature. Having concentrated above on the mole, what follows will focus on the quantity of which the mole is the unit, amount of substance.

Official Definitions Are Formal

Let us begin our examination of official definitions with the SI Brochure. We have already seen the current and draft definitions of the mole. Both the current and draft definitions say that the mole is an amount of substance. The current definition makes it clear that the mole is related to the number of elementary entities: "The mole ... contains as many elementary entities as [emphasis added] ...." (5) It does not state what that number is, but it says it is the same as the number of atoms of a reference substance (12C) in a reference mass (0.012 kg). Thus, the current definition is implicitly an operational one: finding out the number of atoms of 12C in 0.012 kg of that substance (which can presumably be done by some sort of experiment) gives the number of entities in a mole. The wording of the draft definition does not use phrases like "as many" or otherwise indicate that it is proportional to the number of entities. It does give the number of elementary entities in a mole, albeit in a way that no instructor of introductory chemistry would use (that is, by giving the numerical value of the Avogadro constant). The definitions of units in the new SI are all explicit-constant formulations, which means that the units are defined indirectly by giving the value of a physical constant. Thus, the draft SI Brochure does not say (transparently) that a mole contains exactly 6.022 141 29 × 1023 elementary entities; rather it says "... the numerical value of the Avogadro constant [is] exactly 6.022 141 29 × 1023 when it is expressed in the SI unit mol–1." (2)

The point to notice here is that these definitions are primarily concerned with formal relationships—of the mole to a standard mass of a standard material (in the current SI), to a physical constant (in the new SI), and to the physical quantity amount of substance (in both). The observation that educators tend to use other language, by the way, is not in itself a criticism either of the official definitions or of textbook formulations, but a reminder that using a text for one purpose when it was written for another may not produce optimal results.

The SI Brochure is concerned with defining base units, and is less concerned about defining base quantities. For example, it does not define either intuitive quantities such as length or more complex quantities such as thermodynamic temperature. Nor does it really define amount of substance, although one might take the following passage to contain a definition: (5)

The quantity used by chemists to specify the amount of chemical elements or compounds is now called "amount of substance". Amount of substance is defined to be proportional to the number of specified elementary entities in a sample, the proportionality constant being a universal constant which is the same for all samples.

The word "defined" in the second quoted sentence is problematic. Is that sentence supposed to be a definition? If so it is inadequate, for stating a proportionality relationship between two quantities does not constitute an adequate definition either formally or pedagogically. (Imagine stating that the energy of a photon is defined to be proportional to its frequency, the proportionality constant being a universal constant—certainly a true statement, but not an adequate definition.) Alternatively, one might take the second sentence to refer to a definition given elsewhere—in an unspecified place. And the first sentence is clearly not an adequate definition, given the circularity of defining amount of substance using the word "amount."

Before leaving the subject of official definitions, let us examine the IUPAC Gold Book. (19) The Gold Book serves our purposes because, being a Compendium of Chemical Terminology, it has entries for more terms and quantities, and its definitions are a bit more informative than those of the SI Brochure. Still, looking at a the entries for a few SI units and quantities shows that they are intended not primarily to teach concepts but to illustrate formal relationships. Here are the entries for mass and kilogram:

  • mass, m: Base quantity in the system of quantities upon which SI is based.

  • kilogram: SI base unit for mass (symbol: kg). The kilogram is equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram.

Clearly, this is not the place to go to learn about the nature of mass.

Let us examine the entry for amount of substance in some detail. (19) My comments appear in italic type in brackets.

  • amount of substance, n: Base quantity in the system of quantities upon which SI is based. [Just like mass, so far.] It is the number of elementary entities divided by the Avogadro constant. [This tells how to find the quantity in units in which the Avogadro constant is expressed.] Since it is proportional to the number of entities, the proportionality constant being the reciprocal Avogadro constant [that is, the reciprocal of the Avogadro constant] and the same for all substances, it has to be treated almost identically with the number of entities. [This is rather explanatory; however, "almost identical" is not exactly identical, and the difference is not specified.] Thus the counted elementary entities must always be specified. ... [Examples follow distinguishing, for instance, amount of chlorine atoms from amount of chlorine molecules.] In some derived quantities the words "of substance" are also omitted, e.g. amount concentration, amount fraction. Thus in many cases the name of the base quantity is shortened to amount and to avoid possible confusion with the general meaning of the word the attribute chemical is added. [Thus IUPAC recognizes possible confusion of this term with the ordinary meaning of amount, and at least offers a word that can enhance specificity. (20)] The chemical amount is hence the alternative name for amount of substance. [Chemical amount is a useful suggestion for clarity in communicating with specialists, but it not itself an explanatory term for teaching.] ... [Part of the entry dealing with usage in clinical chemistry is omitted from this quotation.] The quantity had no name prior to 1969 and was simply referred to as the number of moles. [The assertion that the quantity previously had no name can be taken as true only in an official sense. "Number of moles" is, of course, a name, even though it is not a formally appropriate name because the name of the unit appears in the name of the quantity; still it is a name that chemists used and understood—and continue to use.]

Official Definitions Equal Scientific Consensus?

The name of the quantity of which the mole is a unit serves as an example of the assertion that SI definitions do not necessarily represent the consensus of scientists. Searching ACS publications for the phrases "amount of substance" and "number of moles" yielded 400 research papers published in ACS journals since the year 2000 that contain the phrase "amount of substance" and 4388 for "number of moles." This would seem to contradict a statement quoted above from the current SI Brochure: "The quantity used by chemists to specify the amount of chemical elements or compounds is now called 'amount of substance'." (5) Whether chemists use the quantity, they rarely seem to call it amount of substance. A similar search of the same database, by the way, revealed a strong preference for "Avogadro's number" to the "Avogadro constant" in ACS research publications. This search turned up 1541 research papers published in ACS journals since the year 2000 that contain the phrase "Avogadro constant" or "Avogadro's constant" compared to 5749 that contain "Avogadro's number" or "Avogadro number". (21)

It is clearly desirable to have a special term for the quantity of which the mole is a unit—a term that does not contain the word mole. At the same time, it is obvious that use of the official term for this quantity does not represent the consensus of practicing chemists. After all, the data set for this query was research papers published relatively recently—more than a generation after the introduction of amount of substance as an SI base unit—in peer-reviewed ACS journals. It represents, by any reasonable assessment, work written and reviewed by experts.

Either Official or Wrong?

And yet there are voices in the educational literature who infer or imply that one does not really know the mole if one does not know amount of substance. This line goes back to the time when amount of substance was being proposed as a base unit for inclusion into the SI. From the "Chemical Queries" column of this Journal in 1968 comes the question, "Is the mole a number or a weight?" The reply begins: (22)

Strictly, neither alternative is appropriate. The mole is the amount of substance containing the same number of molecules (or atoms or radicals or ions or electrons) as there are atoms in exactly 12 g of 12C.

As if simply stating the term amount of substance clears the matter up. To be fair to the authors of the column, they go on to state that in teaching the mole, "It is important to emphasize the amount which is a mole as a number of particles rather than the mass of those particles." (22) It seems to me that this response asserts, in effect, that both number and mass are part of the mole concept. This is consistent with my understanding of the term mole as used by chemists. But the column does not explain the term amount of substance; it simply invokes the term (by stating that the mole is a definite amount of substance), and says it is neither a number nor a weight or mass.

A more recent example, from a 2002 article by Furió, Azcona, and Guisasola, asserts (23)

The mole concept is wrongly introduced in most chemistry texts, attributing it the meaning of chemical mass and/or number of elementary entities. Such wrong interpretations are also present among prestigious authors and publications [emphases added] and in educators, ...

This statement seems to treat the mole as if it were a Platonic idea coextensive with its definition: it is what the official definition says it is, and anything else is a wrong interpretation.

What are some of these wrong interpretations? Furió et al. state that their results are in line with findings of Strömdahl, Tullberg, and Lybeck, (24) about a decade earlier. The latter report that only 3 of the 28 Swedish educators in their study identified the mole as the unit of amount of substance. Most of the participants selected options that identified it with Avogadro's number (17) or with a formula mass (7). The conclusion of this paper notes that Swedish law requires instruction to be in agreement with the SI. It notes that only a small fraction of the sample of educators interviewed seemed to do so with respect to the mole, and that those who presented the mole otherwise than as an amount of substance were unaware that they varied from the SI. The paper continues: (24)

But the educator should be aware that this choice has been made on idiosyncratic grounds differing from the prevailing scientific view, expressed by the scientific community through SI [emphasis added].

Just what the relationship ought to be between scientific consensus and the SI is an interesting question; however, on the mole and amount of substance, a serious divergence between the two apparently exists.

Conclusions

A recent article in this Journal by Fang, Hart, and Clark notes (25)

... while it is necessary that student conceptions of the mole should be consistent with the SI definition, this does not imply that the SI definition is the most effective or appropriate instructional representation of the mole concept.

Their premise thus seems to be that both the official definition and what expert chemists mean by the mole (and what many chemistry educators already teach about it) are correct. What follows from this premise is that the meaning chemists have previously given the mole is projected onto the term amount of substance. (26) These authors present a masterly synthesis of the various aspects of the mole concept, in particular of mass and number. And since amount of substance is in many respects a technical term without an adequate official definition, that synthesis does not seriously contradict any widely accepted definition. If the new SI retains amount of substance as a base quantity, then let it be explicitly defined along the lines laid out by Fang et al.

My own recommendation is to do away with base quantity amount of substance. As a technical term, it does not materially add to understanding the mole. And it is a term that chemists have not embraced, more than four decades after its adoption into the SI. To quote Werner Dierks at the opening of his 1981 paper "Teaching the Mole": (27)

Generations of chemists have apparently used the label 'mole' without any difficulties. ... It seems that the definition [that is, its official definition and adoption into SI] has led to difficulties which either did not previously exist or of which we were unaware.

To which I would add that more than another generation of chemists have used the label mole without being assisted or troubled by the SI definition. There is little prospect of chemists embracing amount of substance after the redefinitions of the new SI, so the new SI would be better off without that term.

I close with an admission that this recommendation is inadequate. Having shown that "number of moles" reflects expert usage among chemists and chemical educators and having asserted that as such it is not "wrong" just because it contradicts official definitions, I nevertheless recognize that it is not a logical usage. The principle of distinguishing quantities from units is a sound one. The quantity of which the mole is a unit deserves a better name than "number of moles". Apparently, however, most chemists and chemistry educators do not believe that "amount of substance" serves that purpose.

Author Information

    • Carmen J. Giunta - Department of Chemistry, Le Moyne College, Syracuse, New York 13214, United States; Email: [email protected]

    • The author declares no competing financial interest.

    Acknowledgment

    I wish to thank the ACS Committee on Nomenclature, Terminology, and Symbols (NTS) for the opportunity to explore implications of the "new SI" for chemistry education in its symposium at the 248th National Meeting (San Francisco, 2014) and at committee meetings over recent years. The insightful comments of the anonymous referees were most useful in focusing and clarifying the arguments and assertions set out in this essay. Neither the referees nor NTS is responsible for whatever deficiencies remain.

    This article references 27 other publications.

    3. 3

      Rusch, P. F. Redefining The Kilogram And Mole Chem. Eng. News 2011 , 89 ( 22 ) 58  DOI: 10.1021/cen-v089n022.p058

    4. 4

      Censullo, A. C. Check Your IQ On The SI Chem. Eng. News 2014 , 92 ( 31 ) 32  DOI: 10.1021/cen-09231-comment

    5. 5

      Bureau International des Poids et Mesures and Organisation Intergouvernementale de la Convention du Mètre, The International System of Units (SI), 8th ed., 2006. Available at http://www.bipm.org/en/publications/si-brochure/ (accessed Jul 2015 ) . This publication is commonly called the SI Brochure.

    6. 6

      Note the difference between the Avogadro constant and Avogadro's number. Officially, the Avogadro constant has dimensions of (amount of substance)−1. Its numerical value technically depends on the units in which it is expressed, but those units are invariably mol–1. Avogadro's number is the number of entities in 1 mol. Thus, Avogadro's number, which is dimensionless, is the numerical value of the Avogadro constant, when the latter is expressed in units of mol–1. None of the chemistry textbooks consulted herein uses the term Avogadro constant.

      There is no corresponding record for this reference.

    7. 7

      Gilbert, T. R.; Kirss, R. V.; Foster, N.; Davies, G. Chemistry: The Science in Context, 4th ed.; Norton: New York, 2015 , [sic, although the book was available in spring 2014]; p G-8.

    8. 8

      Tro, N. J. Chemistry: A Molecular Approach, 2nd ed.; Prentice Hall, Boston, 2011.

    9. 9

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    10. 10

      Emphasis in quoted text, such as bold or italic text, is present in the original, except where stated otherwise.

      There is no corresponding record for this reference.

    12. 12

      Selwood, P. W. Chemical Principles; Holt, Reinhart and Winston: New York, 1964 ; p 60.

    13. 13

      Andrews, D. H.; Kokes, R. J. Fundamental Chemistry, 2nd ed.; Wiley: New York, 1965 ; p 73.

    14. 14

      Alert readers have perhaps noticed that this value of Avogadro's number differs in the 5th significant figure from values quoted above. As an experimentally determined quantity, the best available estimate of the value of Avogadro's number has varied over time with changes in experimental approaches. The history of such changes is briefly but informatively addressed in

      Jensen, W. B. Why Has the Value of Avogadro's Constant Changed over Time? J. Chem. Educ. 2010 , 87 , 1302  DOI: 10.1021/ed100749a

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      Kask, U. Chemistry: Structure and Changes of Matter; Barnes and Noble: New York, 1969 ; p 182.

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      Masterton, W. L.; Slowinski, E. J. Chemical Principles, 4th ed.; Saunders: Philadelphia, PA, 1977 ; p 49.

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    19. 19

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    20. 20

      The official SI Brochure is much more cavalier about the abbreviation amount for amount of substance: "Although the word 'amount' has a more general dictionary definition, this abbreviation of the full name 'amount of substance' may be used for brevity." It gives examples such as "amount of hydrogen chloride" or "amount of benzene." (5)

      There is no corresponding record for this reference.

    22. 22

      Young, J. A. ; Malik, J. G. ; Bolte, J. Chemical Queries, Especially for Introductory Chemistry Teachers J. Chem. Educ. 1968 , 45 , 718 – 719  DOI: 10.1021/ed045p718

    23. 23

      Furió, C. ; Azcona, R. ; Guisasola, J. The Learning and Teaching of the Concepts "Amount of Substance" and "Mole:" A Review of the Literature Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2002 , 3 , 277 – 292  DOI: 10.1039/B2RP90023H

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      The learning and teaching of the concepts 'amount of substance' and 'mole': A review of the literature

      Furio, Carlos; Azcona, Rafael; Guisasola, Jenaro

      Chemistry Education: Research and Practice in Europe (2002), 3 (3), 277-292CODEN: CERPBD ISSN:. (University of Ioannina)

      The importance of the concepts of "amt. of substance" and "mole" is supported by the abundance in the last decade of research papers on the problem of the teaching and learning of these concepts. The article discusses relevant bibliog., including recent investigations, on both the difficulties of learning these concepts and the didactic alternatives that are provided from different perspectives. The literature reviewed shows that students have great difficulty in handling the concepts of amt. of substances and mole. In addn., a clear discrepancy exists between what is assumed as correct by the scientific community and the thinking of educators. Finally, strategies for the teaching of these concepts emerge.

      https://chemport.cas.org/services/resolver?origin=ACS&resolution=options&coi=1%3ACAS%3A528%3ADC%252BD38XpsFOktbw%253D&md5=52b26d72e43841157b54e8237b83bf88

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      Strömdahl, H. ; Tullberg, A. ; Lybeck, L. The Qualitatively Different Conceptions of 1 mol Int. J. Sci. Educ. 1994 , 16 , 17 – 26  DOI: 10.1080/0950069940160102

    25. 25

      Fang, S.-C. ; Hart, C. ; Clarke, D. Unpacking the Meaning of the Mole Concept for Secondary School Teachers and Students J. Chem. Educ. 2014 , 91 , 351 – 356  DOI: 10.1021/ed400128x

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      25

      Unpacking the Meaning of the Mole Concept for Secondary School Teachers and Students

      Fang, Su-Chi; Hart, Christina; Clarke, David

      Journal of Chemical Education (2014), 91 (3), 351-356CODEN: JCEDA8; ISSN:0021-9584. (American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.)

      The "mole" is a fundamental concept in quant. chem., yet research has shown that the mole is one of the most perplexing concepts in the teaching and learning of chem. This paper provides a survey of the relevant literature, identifies the necessary components of a sound understanding of the mole concept, and unpacks and presents these components in the form of a concept map. The concept map incorporates the at.-mol. concept with the mole concept, and connects the two concepts by two linking ideas: the no. aspect of the SI definition (linking idea 1) and the connection between relative at.-mol. mass and molar mass (linking idea 2). This concept map not only provides a conceptual framework for making meaning in relation to the mole but also sheds some light on how the concept might be better taught and learned.

      https://chemport.cas.org/services/resolver?origin=ACS&resolution=options&coi=1%3ACAS%3A528%3ADC%252BC2cXitFKnu7Y%253D&md5=2d50956c84b2782c45e47760b0e147c9

    26. 26

      The word "project" is mine and is admittedly provocative. I believe that the authors would say that the meanings in question apply to the term as it is currently understood.

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    27. 27

      Dierks, W. Teaching the Mole Eur. J. Sci. Educ. 1981 , 3 , 145 – 158  DOI: 10.1080/0140528810030205

    Cited By

    This article is cited by 7 publications.

    1. Thomas H. Bindel. Introducing High School Students to the Avogadro Number and the Mole Concept Using Discovery with Calculations Based on Physical Properties of Elements, Crystal Structures, and 28Si Spheres. Journal of Chemical Education 2021, 98 (3) , 790-795. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c01132
    2. Klaus Schmidt-Rohr. Analysis of Two Definitions of the Mole That Are in Simultaneous Use, and Their Surprising Consequences. Journal of Chemical Education 2020, 97 (3) , 597-602. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00467
    3. Carmen J. Giunta. What Chemistry Teachers Should Know about the Revised International System of Units (Système International). Journal of Chemical Education 2019, 96 (4) , 613-617. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00707
    4. Carmen J. Giunta . What's in a Name? Amount of Substance, Chemical Amount, and Stoichiometric Amount. Journal of Chemical Education 2016, 93 (4) , 583-586. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5b00690
    5. Juan Quílez. A categorisation of the terminological sources of student difficulties when learning chemistry. Studies in Science Education 2019, 55 (2) , 121-167. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2019.1694792
    6. Roberto Marquardt, Juris Meija, Zoltan Mester, Marcy Towns, Ron Weir, Richard Davis, Jürgen Stohner. A critical review of the proposed definitions of fundamental chemical quantities and their impact on chemical communities (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure and Applied Chemistry 2017, 89 (7) , 951-981. https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2016-0808
    7. Su-Chi Fang, Christina Hart, David Clarke. Identifying the critical components for a conceptual understanding of the mole in secondary science classrooms. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 2016, 53 (2) , 181-214. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21298
    • Figures
    • References
    • This publication has no figures.

    • This article references 27 other publications.

      3. 3

        Rusch, P. F. Redefining The Kilogram And Mole Chem. Eng. News 2011 , 89 ( 22 ) 58  DOI: 10.1021/cen-v089n022.p058

      4. 4

        Censullo, A. C. Check Your IQ On The SI Chem. Eng. News 2014 , 92 ( 31 ) 32  DOI: 10.1021/cen-09231-comment

      5. 5

        Bureau International des Poids et Mesures and Organisation Intergouvernementale de la Convention du Mètre, The International System of Units (SI), 8th ed., 2006. Available at http://www.bipm.org/en/publications/si-brochure/ (accessed Jul 2015 ) . This publication is commonly called the SI Brochure.

      6. 6

        Note the difference between the Avogadro constant and Avogadro's number. Officially, the Avogadro constant has dimensions of (amount of substance)−1. Its numerical value technically depends on the units in which it is expressed, but those units are invariably mol–1. Avogadro's number is the number of entities in 1 mol. Thus, Avogadro's number, which is dimensionless, is the numerical value of the Avogadro constant, when the latter is expressed in units of mol–1. None of the chemistry textbooks consulted herein uses the term Avogadro constant.

        There is no corresponding record for this reference.

      7. 7

        Gilbert, T. R.; Kirss, R. V.; Foster, N.; Davies, G. Chemistry: The Science in Context, 4th ed.; Norton: New York, 2015 , [sic, although the book was available in spring 2014]; p G-8.

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        Tro, N. J. Chemistry: A Molecular Approach, 2nd ed.; Prentice Hall, Boston, 2011.

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        Silberberg, M. S. Principles of General Chemistry, 3rd ed.; McGraw-Hill: New York, 2013 ; p G-10.

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        Emphasis in quoted text, such as bold or italic text, is present in the original, except where stated otherwise.

        There is no corresponding record for this reference.

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        Selwood, P. W. Chemical Principles; Holt, Reinhart and Winston: New York, 1964 ; p 60.

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        Andrews, D. H.; Kokes, R. J. Fundamental Chemistry, 2nd ed.; Wiley: New York, 1965 ; p 73.

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        Alert readers have perhaps noticed that this value of Avogadro's number differs in the 5th significant figure from values quoted above. As an experimentally determined quantity, the best available estimate of the value of Avogadro's number has varied over time with changes in experimental approaches. The history of such changes is briefly but informatively addressed in

        Jensen, W. B. Why Has the Value of Avogadro's Constant Changed over Time? J. Chem. Educ. 2010 , 87 , 1302  DOI: 10.1021/ed100749a

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        Kask, U. Chemistry: Structure and Changes of Matter; Barnes and Noble: New York, 1969 ; p 182.

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        Masterton, W. L.; Slowinski, E. J. Chemical Principles, 4th ed.; Saunders: Philadelphia, PA, 1977 ; p 49.

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        Becker, R. S.; Wentworth, W. E. General Chemistry, 2nd ed.; Houghton Mifflin: Boston, MA, 1980 ; p 45.

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        Mortimer, C. E. Chemistry, 5th ed.; Wadsworth: Belmont, CA, 1983 ; p 27.

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        IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book"). Compiled by McNaught, A. D.; Wilkinson, A.; Blackwell Scientific Publications: Oxford, 1997. XML online corrected version created by

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        The official SI Brochure is much more cavalier about the abbreviation amount for amount of substance: "Although the word 'amount' has a more general dictionary definition, this abbreviation of the full name 'amount of substance' may be used for brevity." It gives examples such as "amount of hydrogen chloride" or "amount of benzene." (5)

        There is no corresponding record for this reference.

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        Young, J. A. ; Malik, J. G. ; Bolte, J. Chemical Queries, Especially for Introductory Chemistry Teachers J. Chem. Educ. 1968 , 45 , 718 – 719  DOI: 10.1021/ed045p718

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        Furió, C. ; Azcona, R. ; Guisasola, J. The Learning and Teaching of the Concepts "Amount of Substance" and "Mole:" A Review of the Literature Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2002 , 3 , 277 – 292  DOI: 10.1039/B2RP90023H

        [Crossref], [CAS], Google Scholar

        23

        The learning and teaching of the concepts 'amount of substance' and 'mole': A review of the literature

        Furio, Carlos; Azcona, Rafael; Guisasola, Jenaro

        Chemistry Education: Research and Practice in Europe (2002), 3 (3), 277-292CODEN: CERPBD ISSN:. (University of Ioannina)

        The importance of the concepts of "amt. of substance" and "mole" is supported by the abundance in the last decade of research papers on the problem of the teaching and learning of these concepts. The article discusses relevant bibliog., including recent investigations, on both the difficulties of learning these concepts and the didactic alternatives that are provided from different perspectives. The literature reviewed shows that students have great difficulty in handling the concepts of amt. of substances and mole. In addn., a clear discrepancy exists between what is assumed as correct by the scientific community and the thinking of educators. Finally, strategies for the teaching of these concepts emerge.

        https://chemport.cas.org/services/resolver?origin=ACS&resolution=options&coi=1%3ACAS%3A528%3ADC%252BD38XpsFOktbw%253D&md5=52b26d72e43841157b54e8237b83bf88

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        Strömdahl, H. ; Tullberg, A. ; Lybeck, L. The Qualitatively Different Conceptions of 1 mol Int. J. Sci. Educ. 1994 , 16 , 17 – 26  DOI: 10.1080/0950069940160102

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        Fang, S.-C. ; Hart, C. ; Clarke, D. Unpacking the Meaning of the Mole Concept for Secondary School Teachers and Students J. Chem. Educ. 2014 , 91 , 351 – 356  DOI: 10.1021/ed400128x

        [ACS Full Text ACS Full Text], [CAS], Google Scholar

        25

        Unpacking the Meaning of the Mole Concept for Secondary School Teachers and Students

        Fang, Su-Chi; Hart, Christina; Clarke, David

        Journal of Chemical Education (2014), 91 (3), 351-356CODEN: JCEDA8; ISSN:0021-9584. (American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.)

        The "mole" is a fundamental concept in quant. chem., yet research has shown that the mole is one of the most perplexing concepts in the teaching and learning of chem. This paper provides a survey of the relevant literature, identifies the necessary components of a sound understanding of the mole concept, and unpacks and presents these components in the form of a concept map. The concept map incorporates the at.-mol. concept with the mole concept, and connects the two concepts by two linking ideas: the no. aspect of the SI definition (linking idea 1) and the connection between relative at.-mol. mass and molar mass (linking idea 2). This concept map not only provides a conceptual framework for making meaning in relation to the mole but also sheds some light on how the concept might be better taught and learned.

        https://chemport.cas.org/services/resolver?origin=ACS&resolution=options&coi=1%3ACAS%3A528%3ADC%252BC2cXitFKnu7Y%253D&md5=2d50956c84b2782c45e47760b0e147c9

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        The word "project" is mine and is admittedly provocative. I believe that the authors would say that the meanings in question apply to the term as it is currently understood.

        There is no corresponding record for this reference.

      27. 27

        Dierks, W. Teaching the Mole Eur. J. Sci. Educ. 1981 , 3 , 145 – 158  DOI: 10.1080/0140528810030205

    How to Find Mols of Solution

    Source: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ed5007376

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