Walking into Ms. Bossong’s chemistry class last Thursday, I immediately noticed the new array of stuffed animals sitting atop the chalkboard. Each one seemed to have a different personality—a teacher, a scientist, even a Tenafly football player! Regardless of profession, the plushies had one thing in common: they were all moles.
The madness didn’t end with the blackboard. Across the room, moles seemed to peek out of the paper towels and perch atop shelves, one even managing to bury itself above the emergency shower. Suddenly, I heard the words every student dreads to hear: “Clear your desks, take out a piece of paper and a pencil.”
The room responded with a chorus of groaning, the sound of paper torn from notebooks filling the air. Despite the demeanor of the class, the mood soon lightened after five questions were posted on the board.
“What day is today?” Ms. Bossong pointed at the screen, reading the first question aloud. The class breathed a collective sigh of relief, hastily scribbling down: “Mole Day!”
The next four were answered just as quickly, questions including “What is Avogadro’s favorite dipping sauce?” (GuacaMOLE) and “What grade are you in?” (SophoMOLES). Following the “pop quiz,” the class continued its mole day festivities. Counting the stuffed animal moles hidden across the classroom, Ms. Bossong showcased her one-of-a-kind collection.
Amedeo Avogadro was an Italian scientist who formed a valuable hypothesis later used by others to develop Avogadro’s number. This hypothesis described that equal volumes of all gases contain the same number of molecules when maintained at the same temperature and pressure—suggesting that gases were directly proportional to the number of particles, later designated as moles.
The significance of mole day is not to be forgotten. A mole, as defined in chemistry, is a unit of substance quantity equal to 6.022×10^23 particles, also known as Avogadro’s number. This unit assists scientists in counting the number of particles, atoms, or molecules in a given sample. It is also used in determining concentrations of solutions and measuring specific ratios of compounds to create chemical reactions.
Mole Day was officially made a holiday with the creation of the National Mole Day Foundation on May 15, 1991. High school chemistry teacher Maurice Oehler paved the way for future years with the first annual celebration on October 23rd, 1991.
Contrary to most assumptions, Mole Day is on October 23, not June 2. Despite the significand (6.022) seeming to define Avogadro’s number, the true significance of the mole lies behind the power of ten.
With the absence of a single decimal place, a number can shift entirely—this exponent, 10^23, connects the microscopic world of atoms to the particles measured in a lab. By missing a power of ten, 10^22 transforms Avogadro’s number into a significantly smaller unit of measurement by the tens of thousands.
Regardless of the method used to celebrate Mole Day—from corny jokes to stuffed animals—whether it’s sitting in class and listening to a lecture or utilizing Avogadro’s number to evaluate chemical reactions, the celebration and importance of Mole Day are essential for spreading the message of this invaluable unit.
