A mole is defined as 6.02214076 × 1023 of some chemical unit, be it atoms, molecules, ions, or others. The mole is a convenient unit to use because of the great number of atoms, molecules, or others in any substance. The mole was originally defined as the number of atoms in 12 grams of carbon-12, but in 2018 the General Conference on Weights and Measures announced that effective May 20, 2019, the mole would be just 6.02214076 × 1023 of some chemical unit.