A mole is a standard scientific unit that is used to measure large quantities of small things like atoms and molecules. One mole is considered to be 6.02214179x10^23. This number is also considered to be "Avogadro's Number", named after the Italian Physicist Amedeo Avogadro that discovered and created the number. Avogadro believed that equal volumes of all gases at the same temperature and pressure, contain the same number of molecules. This hypothesis then led to the concept of the mole. Moles are helpful in chemistry because they allow scientists to count a large quantity of something small such as molecules.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/388062/mole
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/45884/Amedeo-Avogadro
