Mole Concept
We focused on several qualitative aspects of chemistry.
These sections explained how to describe atoms, molecules, and compounds. Now,
it is time to start quantifying these chemical quantities. But, before we break
out the calculator, let's take some time to become familiar with the essential
concepts behind chemical calculations.
Imagine that you are working at a grocery store, and your
job for today is to take inventory in the dairy section. First, you have to
count all of the eggs in the store. You want to do this as quickly as possible
so you can take your lunch break in half an hour. What would be the best way to
count the thousands of eggs that surround you?
Sure, you could count all of the eggs individually, but this
approach would take you a very long time. You'd never be done by lunchtime. A
much more convenient and efficient way would be to simply count all of the
one-dozen cartons of eggs. After a few minutes of counting, you find that there
are 323 cartons of eggs. How many eggs would this be?
You realize that every carton of eggs contains one dozen, or
12, eggs. To calculate the total number of eggs, all you have to do is multiply
the number of dozens of egg cartons, 323, by the number of eggs in a dozen, 12:
( 323 dozen eggs )
x (12 eggs / 1 dozen eggs)
= 3876 eggs
Counting eggs by the dozen is a convenient way of
quantifying them. Similarly, there is also a convenient way to
"count" chemical quantities. Just as we measure eggs in terms of
dozens, we measure chemical quantities in terms called moles. Like the quantity
of a dozen, a mole represents a specific number of items.
Just as a dozen is 12 of anything, a mole is 6.022 x 1023
of anything. The number of items in a mole--6.022 x 1023--is
called Avogadro's number. For example:
6.022 x 1023 shoes is a mole of shoes
6.022 x 1023 bikes is a mole of bikes
6.022 x 1023 candy bars is a mole of candy bars.
Now, getting back to the realm of chemistry: if we have
6.022 x 1023 atoms of hydrogen we have one mole of hydrogen, and if
we have 6.022 x 1023 molecules of water, we have one mole of water.
As chemistry often deals with very small and very large quantities, it is
convenient for chemists to use a concept like the mole. As it is much easier to
deal with large quantities of eggs in terms of dozens, it is also more
convenient to work with chemical quantities in terms of moles.
Just as we can use the number 12 to calculate the number of
individuals eggs measured in dozens (and vice versa), we can use Avogadro's number of 6.022 x 1023
to calculate the number of atoms in a given number of moles (and vice versa).
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