15.1 A2 Level

The mole

6 flashcards to master this topic

Definition Flip

What is the SI base unit for amount of substance?

Answer Flip

The SI base unit for the amount of substance is the 'mole', symbol 'mol'. It quantifies the number of elementary entities (atoms, molecules, ions, etc.) of a substance.

Definition Flip

Define one mole in terms of the number of particles.

Answer Flip

One mole of any substance contains the same number of particles as there are atoms in 12 grams of carbon-12. This number is defined as the Avogadro constant (Nₐ).

Definition Flip

What is the approximate value of the Avogadro constant, and what are its units?

Answer Flip

The Avogadro constant (Nₐ) is approximately 6.022 × 10²³ mol⁻¹. It represents the number of particles (atoms, molecules, ions, etc.) per mole of a substance.

Calculation Flip

How do you calculate the number of moles (n) of a substance given the number of particles (N) and the Avogadro constant (Nₐ)?

Answer Flip

The number of moles (n) can be calculated using the formula: n = N / Nₐ, where N is the number of particles and Nₐ is the Avogadro constant.

Example: If you have 1.2044 x 10^24 atoms of carbon, n = (1.2044 x 10^24) / (6.022 x 10^23) = 2 moles.
Calculation Flip

A sample contains 3.011 × 10²³ molecules of water (H₂O). How many moles of water are present?

Answer Flip

n = N / Nₐ = (3.011 × 10²³) / (6.022 × 10²³) = 0.5 mol. Therefore, there are 0.5 moles of water.

Key Concept Flip

Describe how the concept of the mole is important in stoichiometry.

Answer Flip

The mole allows us to relate macroscopic measurements of mass to the number of atoms/molecules involved in a chemical reaction. Stoichiometric calculations rely on the mole ratio from balanced equations to predict quantities of reactants and products.

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14.3 Specific heat capacity and specific latent heat 15.2 Equation of state