Definition

A very small unit of measurement used in chemistry, equal to one trillionth of a mole.

Example

The concentration of the substance was measured in picomoles per liter.

Conversation

I was reading about chemistry and came across the term picomole.

Oh really? That's a tiny unit, right?

Yeah, it's one trillionth of a mole!

That's fascinating! I had no idea chemistry had such small measurements.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Picomole is formed from "pico-" (from Spanish 'pico', meaning a small amount or peak) and "mole" (from Latin 'moles', meaning a mass or a quantity). The term 'picomole' refers to a very small quantity of a substance, specifically one trillionth of a mole.

Memory Tip

Think of 'pico' as a tiny amount and 'mole' as a measure of quantity — together, they help you remember that a picomole is an extremely small measure of substance.

Visually Confused Words