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Home , Amount of substance, Atomic mass, Avogadro constant, Metrologia, Molar mass, Molar mass constant

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by Ian Mills and Martin Milton called simply the , the molar concen- he International System of Units, the SI, is built tration, or the amount concentration) of a . upon seven base quantities and seven base units, Here, V is the of a solution containing the Tas summarized in the table below. Although amount of solute n. Another important relation is that most of these are familiar to all scientists, the quan- between amount of substance n and m for a tity “amount of substance” and its unit “mole” are pure sample less familiar and are mainly used by .1 In the com- n = m/M (3) munity, the unit “mole” is famil- where M is the mass per amount of substance, usually iar, but the name called the “.” Similarly, amount concentra- of the corre- tion c (SI unit mol/dm3) may be related to mass con- sponding quan- centration ρ (SI unit g/dm3) by the equation tity “amount of substance” is c = ρ/M (4) not so familiar, and the concept An important application of the quantity n in is still a source chemistry is to the way in which react in Martin Milton (left) and Ian Mills of difficulty for a (or more generally in any chemical reac- many students. tion); molecules (or or entities) of X always react This article reviews and clarifies these two concepts2 with molecules (or ions or entities) of Y in a simple and discusses the definition of the unit “mole” and its ratio, such as 1:1, or 1:2, or 2:1, and so forth. This is possible revision. the most fundamental concept of chemical reac- tions. Thus, the ratio of volumes of of X Base quantity symbol symbol and Y that react together in a titration are given by l m mass m kg ⎛⎞⎛VncnnXXXXY// ⎞⎛ ⎞ , time interval t s ⎜⎟⎜== ⎟⎜ ⎟ Vnccc// I, i A ⎝⎠⎝YYYXY ⎠⎝ ⎠ (5) thermodynamic T K where the quantity (nX/nY) is a simple rational fraction. amount of substance n mole mol Hence, the concentration of an unknown solution may be determined from the concentration of a standard Iv cd solution by measuring the volumes in a titration. This is the law of multiple proportions. Amount of Substance It is difficult to give formal definitions for quanti- Amount of substance, symbol n, is a quantity that ties, particularly base quantities, such as length, mass, measures the size of an ensemble of entities. It time, temperature, and amount of substance. The appears in thermodynamic relations, such as the ideal most useful definitions of quantities are in terms of the law, and in stoichiometric relations between react- equations that relate them to other quantities, and, ing molecules, as in the Law of Multiple Proportions. in this way, derived quantities are defined in terms Familiar equations involving n are thus of base quantities. But defining the base quantities is more difficult. The best formal definition of “amount pV = nRT (1) of substance” is as follows:

for an , and the equation Amount of substance is a quantity proportional to the number of entities N in a sample. The c = n/V (2) proportionality constant is the same for all sub- stances and is the reciprocal of the Avogadro

for the amount-of-substance concentration (usually constant NA.

CHEMISTRY International March-April 2009 3 Amount of Substance and the Mole

The entities may be , molecules, ions, elec- is that it extends the power of dimensional analy- trons, other particles, or specified groups of such sis in chemistry, and to equations involving chemi- particles. cal quantities. This follows from the fact that n is a base quantity with its own dimension, whereas The quantity amount of substance, n, is thus an N is dimensionless. alternative to using the quantity number of entities, N. They are related by the equation The Mole

n = N/NA (6) The mole, with symbol mol, is the SI unit for the quan- tity amount of substance. It is currently defined as 3 where NA is the , a fundamental follows: constant whose value is related to the unit of amount The mole is that amount of substance that con- of substance n. Because the number of entities N is tains the same number of elementary entities as a dimensionless number, the dimension of N is the A there are atoms in 12 g of 12. When the reciprocal of the dimension of n and is thus (amount mole is used, the entities must be specified and of substance)-1. may be atoms, molecules, ions, , other One might reasonably ask why we need the quan- particles, or specified groups of such particles. tity amount of substance n at all. Why not simply use number of entities N in its place? There are three rea- It follows that the numerical value of the Avogadro -1 sons for preferring the use of n rather than N: constant, denoted {NA}, expressed in the unit mol , is simply the number of atoms in 12 g of carbon 12, so 1. First, equations, such as Equation 3, can be that the value of the Avogadro constant is directly used to determine molar mass M, or amounts in related to the definition of the mole. The present best terms of moles, without knowing the value of the estimate of the Avogadro constant is4 Avogadro constant. The atomic of atoms 23 -1 -8 in the periodic table were known long before the NA = 6.022 141 79 (30) x 10 mol [ur = 5 x 10 ] (7) value of the Avogadro constant was known with similar accuracy. Even today, the value of the where the number in square brackets is the relative Avogadro constant is known only to about a part standard uncertainty. in 107, whereas many atomic weights are known to The effect of this definition is that the molar mass about a part in 109 or better. of carbon 12, M(12C), is exactly 12 g/mol, and the molar mass of any or X is determined from 2. A second reason is practical: The number of enti- its atomic or molecular by simply multiplying ties is generally of the order 1023, whereas n is by the unit g/mol, without the need to know the value generally a number of order 1 when expressed in of the Avogadro constant. This is summarized in the moles. Thus, for example, in a chemistry labora- relations tory, the concentration of solutions is typically 12 12 quoted in moles per , with numbers in the M( C) = Ar( C) g/mol = 12 g/mol (8) general order of magnitude 1. It would be incon-

venient to quote in molecules per M(X) = Ar(X) g/mol (9) litre, with numbers of the order 1023. Thus we find

bottles labeled “0.1 M NaOH,” where M is read as Here, Ar(X) is the recommended symbol for the “molar” and is an accepted shorthand for the unit molecular weight of the entity X. The atomic or molec- mol/L = mol/dm3. The quantity amount of sub- ular weight of an entity is actually the relative atomic stance may be seen as a device used to handle the or , relative to the value for the carbon same quantitative information with much smaller 12 atom taken as exactly 12. The names “atomic weight” numbers. and “molecular weight” are universally used and have been officially sanctioned by IUPAC, although they are 3. A third motivation for introducing the quantity actually dimensionless quantities and are not either amount of substance with the mole as a base unit or weights.

4 CHEMISTRY International March-April 2009 Amount of Substance and the Mole

The Names “Mole” and “Amount Of specification of the molecular formula. Yet in practice, Substance” many people say “amount of substance of ,” or even “amount of substance of substance benzene,” The name “mole” has been—and still is—the cause of which is long winded and seems like a tautology in some confusion. Its origin has been discussed in sev- addition to being ambiguous. eral publications.5 The terms “Kilogrammemolekuel” Other names have been suggested for the quan- and “g-Molekel” were used by German scientists in tity n. A possible name might be “chemical amount,” the 1880s and 1890s. The term “gramme-molecule” because this quantity has to do with chemistry. The was first used in English in 1893 in an article in the name “chemical amount” for n would then naturally Encyclopedia Britannica. As the term implies, one extend to the name “chemical concentration” for c molecular weight of a substance X is that (compare with the name “mass concentration” for C), amount in a mass equal to the molecular weight and when there is no confusion, the adjective “chemi- expressed in . cal” might be dropped—leading to the names that are These terms proved too awkward for everyday use, usually used today in such phrases as “an amount of and the shortening of the term “g-Molekel” to “Mol” three moles,” or “a concentration of 0.1 mol/dm3.” The was first recorded in 1898 by Nernst.6 The term “mole” name “enplethy” has also been suggested for amount appears in English for the first time in the translation of substance; see the discussion on page 4 of the new of Ostwald’s Principles of Inorganic Chemistry, pub- edition of the IUPAC Green Book.8 lished in 1902, in which Ostwald associated the term Another name for n, which is the name that most with a standard number of molecules. Thus, one gram chemists use, is simply “number of moles.” However, molecule of X became one mole of X. this name is problematic because it confuses the name The development of and the of the quantity with the name of the unit. For this discovery of in the early twentieth cen- reason, we would not regard “number of ” tury led to the transition of atomic weights from a as an acceptable synonym for “mass” nor “number of basis of either 16 for the naturally occurring mix of ” as an acceptable synonym for “temperature.” isotopes (used in chemistry) or 16 for the A clear understanding requires that we always distin- 16O (used in physics), and eventually to the guish between quantities and units. Thus, mass is a use of 12 for 12C, adopted in 1961 and described as quantity, for which kilogram (or gram, or milligram) the “unified scale.” During this period, is a unit; similarly, we wish to say that amount of sub- it was recognized that the quantity for which the stance is a quantity, for which mole (or millimole, or mole was a unit itself deserved recognition as a micromole) is a unit. quantity, and it was given the name “amount of sub- Setting aside the difficulties with the name “amount stance.” The International Committee for Weights and of substance,” it is important to realize that in the Measures (Comité International des Poids et Mesures, system of quantities and units that is now univer- CIPM), with the support of IUPAC, the International sally adopted in chemistry, amount of substance n Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), and the is regarded as a base quantity with its own dimen- International Organization for Standardization (ISO), sion, whereas—in contrast—number of entities N is adopted “amount of substance” as a base quantity regarded as a . and “mole” as a base unit in 1971.7 It must be admitted that the name “amount of sub- A Possible New Definition for the stance” is not well chosen; the word “amount” has a Mole common dictionary meaning, and the additional words “of substance” seem inadequate to imply chemists’ The current definition of the seven base units of the more special meaning for this name. It was the origi- SI is given in the SI Brochure.3 However, proposals nal intention that the words “of substance” should be are under discussion to adopt new definitions for replaced by the specification of the entity whenever four of the base units. This follows from our desire to possible, so that one would say (for example) “amount define each of the base units in relation to one of the + of benzene, C6H6” or “amount of ions, H .” fundamental constants of physics, or the properties Note the importance of specifying the molecular for- of a simple atom, because we believe these to be the mula of the entity. For example, “amount of sulphur” most stable and reliable constants of nature available. might refer to an entity S, or S2, or S8 without further Specifically, new definitions are being considered for

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the kilogram, ampere, kelvin, and mole. This is the M(X) = Ar(X) Mu (12) subject known as , and the pro- just as the atomic mass of the entity X is given by posals are discussed in detail elsewhere.9 However,

the proposed new definition of the mole is particularly m(X) = Ar(X) mu (13) relevant to this discussion, and the suggestion is that it

should simply specify the number of entities in a mole. In the current SI, Mu = 1 g/mol exactly, and the This new definition might then read as follows: Avogadro constant is an experimentally determined quantity (the number of atoms in 12 g of carbon 12), The mole is that amount of substance of a whose value is currently known with a relative stan- system that contains exactly 6.022 141 79 x 1023 dard uncertainty of about 5 x 10-8 (CODATA 2006).

specified elementary entities, which may be With the new definition proposed above, Mu will atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, other particles, initially have the same value of 1 g/mol, but it will be or specified groups of such particles. an experimentally determined quantity with an uncer- tainty, and its value may change slightly from 1 g/mol The effect of this new definition would be to fix the as a result of future adjustments in the values of other 23 value of the Avogadro constant to be 6.022 141 79 x 10 constants. However, the relative change of Mu from the mol-1 exactly. The number would be chosen to be the value 1 g/mol is unlikely ever to be greater than a few best estimate of the numerical value of the Avogadro parts in 109, and this is so much smaller than the uncer- constant at the time the new definition is adopted, thus tainty with which chemical are likely to ensuring continuity in the value of the mole. be made that for all practical purposes, chemists may

This new definition would be conceptually simpler still treat Mu as being equal to 1 g/mol. than the current definition, which is chosen to fix the The relation between the Avogadro constant molar mass of carbon 12 rather than the number of and the presented by Mohr and entities in a mole. Also, the new definition would no Taylor,4 which follows from the theoretical expres- longer be dependent on the kilogram, so that uncer- sion for the ∞, remains true under tainties in realizing the definition of the kilogram both the current and new definition of the mole: would no longer be transmitted to the mole, as they are at present. ⎛⎞MRNh(C)12 ⎛⎞ 2 ==M ∞ A (14) The Mu ⎜⎟u ⎜⎟2 ⎝⎠12⎝⎠α cAr (e) Many of the relations between the quantities discussed here can be simplified by introducing the molar mass In this equation, α is the fine structure constant, c

constant Mu, defined as one twelfth of the molar mass is the in a vacuum, h is the Planck con- of the carbon 12 atom. This is the natural analog on the stant, and Ar(e) is the relative mass of the on macroscopic scale of the unified atomic mass constant the unified atomic mass scale.

mu on the atomic scale, defined as one-twelfth of the The molar mass constant Mu has not been much mass of a carbon 12 atom. The quantity mu is often used in the established literature. It can, of course, used as a unit of atomic mass, denoted either u (for always be replaced by the expression M(12C)/12, which “unified”) or Da (for “,” a name for this unit that is how it is defined. We believe that this constant is widely used in the biosciences for expressing the could be used to greater advantage than it is at pres- mass of biomolecules with many thousands of atoms). ent—in teaching chemistry, for example, to simplify the Thus, we have expression for calculating the molar mass of atoms and molecules. 12 Mu = M( C) / 12 (10) and Summary and Acknowledgements

12 mu = m( C) / 12 = 1 u = 1 Da (11) It is something of a paradox that such concepts as the quantity “amount of substance” and its unit “mole,” so The molar mass M(X) of any entity X is then given in widely used by practical chemists, are also the sub- terms of the molecular weight Ar(X) by the equation jects of widespread misunderstanding. The proposed

6 CHEMISTRY International March-April 2009 Amount of Substance and the Mole new definition for the mole would simplify the link 4. Mohr, P.J., B.N. Taylor, and D.B. Newell, Rev. Mod. Phys. between the mole and the Avogadro constant, which 2008, 80(2), 633–730, or J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 2008, has its own long and rich history. 37(3), 1187–1284. This short article owes much to a paper drafted 5. Cerruti, L. “The Mole, , and Others.” , 1994, 31, 159–166; McGlashan, M.L. “Amount by B.N. Taylor for the benefit of the Consultative of Substance and the Mole.” Metrologia, 1994/95, 31, Committee for Units meeting held in June 2007. We 447–455. are also grateful to Fabienne Meyers for a number of 6. Nernst, W. Theoretische Chemie von Standpunkte der suggestions that improved this manuscript. Avogadroschen Regel und der Thermodynamic, 1898. 7. 14th CGPM 1971, Resolution 3, and Metrologia 1972, 8, 36. References 8. Quantities, Units and Symbols in , 3rd 1. The quantity “luminous intensity” and its unit “candela” ed., RSC Publishing for IUPAC, 2007. are also used only by a specialized community, but these 9. Mills et al. “Redefinition of the Kilogram, Ampere, Kelvin quantities are not discussed here. and Mole: A Proposed Approach to Implementing CIPM 2. Guggenheim discussed these concepts in a short paper Recommendation 1 (CI-2005),” Metrologia 2006, 43, written nearly 50 years ago (E.A.Guggenheim, J. Chem. 227–246. Ed. 1961, 38, 86–87). 3. The International System of Units (the SI Brochure), 8th Ian Mills is a professor at the School of Chemistry, ed., International Bureau of Weights and Measures, 2006. University of Reading, Reading, UK. Martin Milton is a ISBN 92-822-2213-6. science fellow at the National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington, UK.

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