chalkboard with mole concept written on it

Everything You Need to Know About How to Teach The Mole

Reading Time: 3 minutes

You can’t teach stoichiometry without first introducing your students to the mole. I used to teach the mole with stoichiometry, but my current PLC prefers to teach them separately. The benefit of keeping them together is… they are the same concept. BUT separating them gives you two assessments. 

The mole unit is more practice-heavy, so anything you can do to take a break from pure calculations is a win. They don’t know how to calculate theoretical yield yet, but there are other things that they can do, like measure mass and determine the molar mass of an unknown sample. 

The Mole Concept Lesson Plans

Total Duration: 9-15 days

Note: a day refers to 45-50 minute periods.

Topic & TimelineTasks +  LinksDescription
Relative Mass (Optional)

1 day		Relative Mass + the Mole POGILThis POGIL introduces your students to relative mass and how it relates to moles. They start out comparing the masses of chicken and quail eggs and then move on to comparing elements and eventually compounds. It’s a great introduction to relative mass, molar mass, and thinking about one-step conversions.
Intro to Molar Mass
1 day		Counting by Weighing Lab
You’re going to need a lot of something. The lab linked here uses lentils. I’ve also used paper clips, M&Ms, washers, pennies… Use whatever you have a lot of. You could also give each group a different “substance.” 

Students are challenged to figure out how many individual pieces there are in a sample (weigh one, then divide the mass of the sample by that one). 
Molar Mass

1-2 days		Calculating Molar Mass Notes + Practice

Mole Containers		Introduce your students to molar mass with these simple notes!  Then, for some “real world” practice, challenge them to figure out which substances are in some mystery containers!

Give your students a list of names for the substances. They’ll need to figure out their molar masses. 

Then have out some containers labeled only with the moles and the mass of the container itself. Students will weigh the samples and then calculated the molar mass of each substance, matching each container to something from the list!
Moles as Conversion Factors

1 day		Mole Conversions Notes + PracticeNow that your students have had some practice with molar mass, spend some time going over how to use molar mass as a conversion practice. 
Avogadro’s Number

1-2 days		Size of a Mole (TedEd video)

Moles of Chalk

Atom Counting		I have my students weigh a piece of chalk. Then they write their name on a piece of paper – however they want. Then they weigh the chalk after. Next,  they calculate how many moles were required to write their name (as well as the average number of moles per letter). Finally, they calculate the number of atoms used up for their name. 

To practice two-step conversions, my students weigh various samples and then calculate the number of atoms in each sample (about 10). You could also give liquid samples they need to measure in mL to practice converting from mL to atoms from moles to atoms. 
Percent Composition Inquiry

1 day		Percent Composition of An Egg LabNow on to molar mass and conversion applications!  I give my students an egg and ask them to figure out how to determine the percent of shell vs. white vs. yolk. They have to devise a procedure before I give them their egg. Then, they have the rest of the period to find each mass. 

Some students finish quickly while others take the whole period. This can spark a great conversation the next day about time management. 
Percent Composition Calculations

1 day		Percent Composition Notes + PracticeAfter the egg lab, we discuss what percent composition is and why it’s important. Then we take notes on how to use molar mass to find the percent composition of different compounds. 
Empirical Formulas

1 – 2 days		Empirical + Molecular Formulas Notes + PracticeThe next application we work on is determining empirical and molecular formulas. Knowing how to calculate percent composition helps with this lesson!
Review

1-3 days		Mole Digital Crossword

Mole Vocabulary

Study Guide
Many students think they just need to know the math… but you can’t do the math if you don’t know the vocabulary. How will you know what to do if you don’t understand the question? I give my students time to review the new vocabulary they learned with this unit before giving them a study guide. 
Assessment

Looking for more?

The Chemistry Particle’s Guide to Teaching High School Chemistry, The Chemistry Particle

Mole Concept Notes Bundle, TPT

How to Make Simple Mole Calculations More Relatable, ChemEdXchange

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