Question

How much is 1 mole

Answer 1

A mole is simply a unit of measurement. take carbon for example its #6 of the table. its weight is 12.01 amu (atomic mass units)

if you have 5 grams of carbon, you divide it by its atomic mass to find the number of moles (n)

\[\frac{ 5 }{ 12.01 } = 0.416 moles\]

Answer 2

I like to think of a mole as the chemist's dozen. Only it's not a dozen, it's a lot bigger. It's
\[6.022 \times 10^{23} \] of anything.

One professor told my class that if you were to cover the entire US with one mole of marshmallows, you'd have a pile reaching out of the atmosphere. I haven't done the follow-up math. :) In the case of an element, one mole of any element will weigh exactly that element's atomic weight in grams. So one mole of bromine, for example is going to weigh almost 80 grams.

This concept becomes *hugely* important later in solutions and reactions.