National Mole Day 2020
Mole Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated among chemists, chemistry students, and chemistry enthusiasts on October 23, between 6:02 a.m. and 6:02 p.m. The day commemorates chemistry’s measuring unit called “Avogadro’s Number”. The day is celebrated as a means to bring awareness and create interest in the study of Chemistry. The day is celebrated by schools around the USA by doing mole and chemistry themed activities.
History
The Day derived in an article in The Science Teacher in the early 1980s. From this article, Maurice Oehler, now a retired high school chemistry teacher from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, founded the National Mole Day Foundation (NMDF) on May 15, 1991.
Mole Day is celebrated in high schools in the United States, South Africa, Australia, and Canada. The day is an honor to get students interested in chemistry, with various activities often related to chemistry or moles.
The American Chemical Society sponsors National Chemistry Week, which occurs from Sunday through Saturday during which October 23 falls. This makes the day an integral part of National Chemistry Week.
What is Mole In Chemistry?
The mole (symbol: mol) in chemistry is the unit of measurement for the amount of substance in the International System of Units. A mole of a substance or a mole of particles is defined as exactly 6.02214076×1023 particles, which may be atoms, molecules, ions, or electrons. In short, for particles 1 mol = 6.02214076×1023
Mole is widely used in chemistry as a convenient way to express amounts of reactants and products of chemical reactions. For example, the chemical equation 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O can be explained to mean that 2 mol dihydrogen (H2) and 1 mol dioxygen (O2) react to form 2 mol water (H2O). The mole may also be used to represent the number of atoms, ions, electrons, or other entities.
Mole Day 2020 Theme
This year the theme is MOLEzilla!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Mole Day celebrated?
The day is celebrated as a means to bring awareness and create interest in the study of Chemistry. The day is celebrated by schools around the USA by doing mole and chemistry themed activities.
Do mole days have themes?
The National Mole Day Foundation founded in 1991 celebrates the day every year with a theme. Some of the recent themes include Moley Potter in 2018, The MOLEVENGERS in 2017, and Periodic Table of EleMoleMents in 2016.
What is this year’s Mole Day theme?
This year’s Mole Day theme is MOLEzilla!
Who established the National Mole Day Foundation?
The National Mole Day Foundation was established by retired high school teacher Maurice Oehler on May 15, 1991.
Reference: Moleday
