The mole measures the amount of substance in chemical compounds and elements.
The mole is one of the fundamental physical quantities contemplated by the International System of Units . This unit is used to measure the amount of all kinds of substances present in a given system.
Knowing the etymological origin of the word we are analyzing is vital to being able to understand and establish its meaning. Specifically, we can state that it is found in Latin and more precisely in the word moles , which can be translated as “mass.”
Analyzing the concept
The mole, experts indicate, reflects the amount of substance that has a specific number of elemental entities such as atoms that can be found in twelve grams of carbon-12 . This means that the number of elementary units (such as electrons, atoms, molecules or ions, for example) that are reflected in a mole of substance is a constant that has no direct relationship with the type of particle or material in it. question. This quantity is known as Avogadro's number .
This constant , named in honor of the Italian scientist Amedeo Avogadro ( 1776 – 1856 ), allows counting microscopic particles from macroscopic measurements (such as mass ).
Count of Quaregna and Cerreto, Avogadro ejerció como profesor en la University of Turin en el área de Physics y consiguió realizar importantes aportaciones a las ciencias. Con la llamadaAvogadro's law, por ejemplo, lo que estableció fue que idénticos volúmenes de gases que se encuentran en las mismas condiciones, en lo que respecta a la temperatura y a la presión, contarán con el mismo número de partículas. Se considera este aporte como un caso específico que se enmarca en laideal gas law, que no es otra cosa más que la ecuación de estado de los gases ideales.
The number of elementary units in a mole of substance does not depend on the type of particle or the type of material.
Mole and Avogadro's number
Avogadro's number, therefore, helps chemistry experts express the weight of atoms. The equation indicates that one mole is equivalent to 6.022 x 10 to the power of 23 particles . This is an immense figure capable of reflecting an enormous amount of particles.
When expressing the total number of atoms that are identified in twelve grams of carbon-12, the mass in grams of one mole of atoms of an element always coincides with the atomic weight considered in atomic mass unit (u) of the same element. This means that Avogadro's constant allows for a unit conversion between the gram and the atomic mass unit.
Different stoichiometric calculations can be carried out with the mole.
Associated notions
There are several notions associated with the idea of a mole. Molar mass , for example, is the mass of one mole of a certain substance, expressed in grams. This numerical value is coincident with that of the molecular mass , although this is expressed in atomic mass units.
Molarity , on the other hand, reflects the measurement of the concentration that a solute has in a solution. Also known as molar concentration , it is usually used to express the concentration when handling chemical reactions, although it must be considered that the volume registers changes depending on the temperature.
Molality , on the other hand, is independent of pressure and temperature. In this case, the term refers to the number of moles of a solute found in one kilogram of a solvent.
The idea of molar volume , on the other hand, is linked to the volume of one mole of a substance. The cubic meter per mole is the unit of the International System of Units that is used for its expression.
It is interesting to mention that the estimation of the quantitative relationships that, within the framework of a chemical reaction, are established between the reactants and their products is called stoichiometry . Stoichiometry is based on several principles, such as the law of conservation of mass (which states that the number of atoms does not change with the development of a chemical reaction).
Mol, a municipality of Antwerp
Mol , finally, is a municipality located in the province of Antwerp ( Belgium ) and the acronym for Mac on Linux (a type of software ).
A town that has become one of the most sought-after tourist enclaves by travelers arriving in Belgium . And it is that in it, which has a population of around 30,000 inhabitants, the visitor is given the opportunity to enjoy their stay practicing a wide number of water sports in the various lakes that it has.
In the same way, it should not be overlooked that tourists also have the possibility of enriching themselves culturally by visiting the famous Postel Abbey . The origin of this religious construction, which belongs to the Romanesque style, is found in the 12th century, although with the passage of time, and the different works that were carried out in it, Gothic and Baroque elements were included.