Happy Mole Day! And we’re not talking about the dark spots on your skin, or the creatures that dig around in the dirt. We’re talking about the Mole: the base unit of any amount of substance. The mole is an incredibly important value in the field of Chemistry! The value of a mole is 6.022x1023 particles; the particles could be atoms or ions, depending on the situation in which the mole is being used. A mole is also known in the chemistry world as Avogadro’s Number.

Avogadro’s Number was named after Amedeo Avogadro, an Italian chemist born in 1776. He was fascinated by chemistry, more specifically the law of combining volumes. Through his study into this law, he ended up creating his own law, called Avogadro’s Law. This law stated that “equal volumes of any two gases at the same temperature and pressure must hold an equal number of particles” (https://science.howstuffworks.com/avogadros-number.htm). From this law, the magic number was found. Through many years of study and collaboration, they discovered that this number was roughly equivalent to the number of atoms in 12 grams of a specific kind of carbon, Carbon-12.

Now, why is this number so useful? Well, this number, 6.022 x 1023 can be applied to any substance being used. It can be used to help solve mathematical equations on how much of one substance is needed in an experiment, or to find out how many atoms are in another. By using the mole in calculations, it gives a consistent value to be able to convert between atoms or molecules and grams. Being able to do this conversion is incredibly important in the field of Chemistry!

            Mole Day this year lands on October 23, ending the National Chemistry Week, taking place from October 17-23. This week is filled with many fun activities and events that help teach people about chemistry, and help grow everyone’s interest in the topic! National Chemistry Week was founded in 1987, by George Pimentel. He wanted to help the public learn more about chemistry, and how important it is in everyone’s lives. The first National Chemistry Day was celebrated on November 6, 1987. It was approved by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Board, and turned into a national celebration in 1989. It was set to be celebrated every year at the end of October. In 1993, the celebration was expanded into National Chemistry Week. The theme of the week this year is “Fast or Slow… Chemistry Makes It Go!” To find different activities dedicated to celebrating National Chemistry Week, check out https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/outreach/ncw.html.

References

Atteberry, J. (2020, December 17). What Is Avogadro’s Number? HowStuffWorks.

https://science.howstuffworks.com/avogadros-number.htm

Avogadro’s number - Academic Kids. (n.d.). Academic Kids. Retrieved October 1, 2021, from

https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Avogadro%27s_number

Desk, I. T. W. (2021, September 21). Mole Day 2021: History, significance and other details. India Today.

https://www.indiatoday.in/information/story/mole-day-2021-history-significance-and-other-details-1855178-20

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Mole Day. (n.d.). American Chemical Society. Retrieved October 1, 2021, from

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/students/highschool/chemistryclubs/activities/mole-day.html

What Is a Mole and Why Is It Used in Chemistry? (2021, June 2). ThoughtCo.

https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-mole-and-why-are-moles-used-602108