The Mole (Cambridge (CIE) A Level Physics): Revision Note

Amount of substance

• In physics, the amount of substance is an SI base quantity with the base unit mol

• The mole is a unit of substance (not mass) and is defined as:

The amount of substance containing as many particles (e.g. atoms or molecules) as there are atoms in 12 g of carbon-12

• When held under the same conditions (temperature and pressure), two different gases of equal volume will contain the same number of molecules

• The number of moles n can be calculated using the equation

• Where:

  • N = number of molecules

  • N_A = Avogadro's constant

The Avogadro constant

• In AS Physics, the atomic mass unit (u) was introduced as approximately the mass of a proton or neutron = 1.66 × 10^-27 kg

• So an atom or molecule has a mass approximately equal to the number of protons and neutrons it contains

• A carbon-12 atom has a mass of:

12 u = 12 × 1.66 × 10^-27 = 1.99 × 10^-26 kg

• A mole contains 6.02 × 10²³ molecules, this is known as Avogadro's constant

• Avogadro’s constant (N_A) is defined as:

The number of atoms in 12 g of carbon-12, equal to 6.02 × 10²³ molecules per mol

• One mole can be calculated as:

• For example, 1 mole of sodium (Na) contains 6.02 × 10²³ atoms of sodium

• The number of atoms can be determined if the number of moles is known by multiplying by N_A, for example:

2.0 mol of nitrogen contains:  2.0 × N_A = 2.0 × 6.02 × 10²³ = 1.20 × 10²⁴ atoms

Mole and the atomic mass

• One mole of any element is equal to the relative atomic mass of that element in grams

  • E.g. Helium has an atomic mass of 4 - this means 1 mole of helium has a mass of 4 g

• If the substance is a compound, add up the relative atomic masses

• For example, water (H₂O) is made up of

  • 2 hydrogen atoms (each with atomic mass of 1) and 1 oxygen atom (atomic mass of 16)

  • So, 1 mole of water would have a mass of (2 × 1) + 16 = 18 g

Molar mass

• The molar mass of a substance is the mass, in grams, in one mole

  • Its unit is g mol^-1

• The number of moles n can also be calculated from the equation:

• Where:

  • m = mass of the substance (g)

  • M_r = molar mass of the substance (g mol^-1)