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Reproposition of numerosity as the SI base quantity whose unit is the mole

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Abstract

‘Amount of substance’ was introduced in the end of the 1950s as the physical quantity whose unit of measurement is the mole. Fundamental problems associated with this physical quantity have caused a never-ending discussion that continues to this day. One of the reasons for this is the fact that the expression ‘amount of substance’ is not a good choice, due to its generality and inclusion of the word ‘substance’. Considering that samples of matter commonly handled by chemists are extremely numerous in entities and that the quality of being numerous or many is referred to as numerosity (a concept related to numerical cognition), this concept is reproposed as a replacement for amount of substance. Then, taking into account ongoing discussions toward a redefinition of the mole, the following definition is proposed for this SI base unit: “the mole is the numerosity of a sample of entities numbering exactly 6.022 141 794 × 1023”. The relationships between four extensive properties of matter (mass, volume, numerosity and number of entities) are detailed and the resulting intensive physical quantities (proportionality constants) are discussed. The concept numerosity is not the product of an invented synonym; furthermore, as a consequence of its generality, it can be used to express the quantity of entities in samples of matter, as well as of light, chemical reactions, etc. The acceptance that mole is the SI unit of numerosity might also solve most of the pedagogic problems associated heretofore with teaching of mole and amount of substance.

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Acknowledgements

I thank Paul De Bièvre for the resolute suggestions and incentive to write this paper. Support by the Brazilian funding agency CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, C.P. 676, São Carlos-SP, 13560-970, Brazil

    Romeu C. Rocha-Filho

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Correspondence to Romeu C. Rocha-Filho.

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Rocha-Filho, R.C. Reproposition of numerosity as the SI base quantity whose unit is the mole. Accred Qual Assur 16, 155–159 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-011-0752-7

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