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For Mole Problems, Call Avogadro: 602-1023

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R. E. Uthe

General College, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0434

J. Chem. Educ., 2002, 79 (10), p 1213

DOI: 10.1021/ed079p1213

Publication Date (Web): October 1, 2002

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

General education students who have never encountered Avogadro’s number often have difficulty grasping its magnitude and the resulting implications for sizes and numbers of particles in common materials they see around them. I have surveyed the approaches used by several chemical educators. This article describes the techniques I find best help introductory students in General College at the University of Minnesota become familiar with Avogadro’s number and mole calculations. They involve estimating numbers of common objects and then calculating the length of time needed to count large numbers of them. For example, the immense amount of time required to count a mole of sand grains at one grain per second greatly exceeds the age of the universe. The calculations also reinforce procedures for manipulating exponents and applying problem-solving techniques.

Keywords (Audience):

High School / Introductory Chemistry

Keywords (Pedagogy):

Problem Solving / Decision Making

Keywords (Subject):

Nonmajor Courses

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This article has been cited by 1 ACS Journal articles (1 most recent appear below).

Pre-Service Teacher as Researcher: The Value of Inquiry in Learning Science
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- Pre-Service Teacher as Researcher: The Value of Inquiry in Learning Science
  Janice M. Hohloch , Nathaniel Grove and Stacey Lowery Bretz
  Journal of Chemical Education2007 84 (9), 1530
  A pre-service science and mathematics teacher participated in an action research project to reform a chemistry course required of elementary and middle childhood pre-service teachers. Activities to emphasize a hands-on approach to learning chemistry and ...
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