What do these symbols mean?

I've searched on the web for some of these symbols but I don't know what they mean:

1) #mol^-1#
2) #dm^-3#

I usually see #mol^-1# represent "something per mole", but I am not 100% sure of this. If someone could confirm with me, that would be greatly appreciated.

Also, for #dm^-3# , I usually see this unit pop up for concentration questions. My question is, how do I say it? For example, if I am reading a presentation to my classmates, how would I say the concentration of this compound is 1 mol #dm^-3# ? If someone could also clarify this issue with me, I'd be greatly thankful.

Lastly, just out of curiosity are there any other abbreviations that I should be concerned about, for example, #unit^-2#, #unit^-4#, etc?

Thanks.

1 Answer
Jul 4, 2016

You are correct, #mol^(-1) = 1/(mol)# or "per mole".

#dm# is a decimetre which is a unit of length. Cubing it gives a volume so #dm^(-3) = 1/((dm)^3)# which is "per volume". You would say "moles per cubic decimetre". Incidentally, a cubic decimetre is the exact same volume as a litre, giving the unit for concentration as #moll^(-1)# ("moles per unit litre") which rolls of the tongue a little bit nicer.