The Russian Mir space station used a chemical oxygen generator system to make oxygen for the crew. The system ignited a tube of solid lithium perchlorate (LiClO4) to make oxygen and lithium chloride (LiCl):

Question

LiClO4 (s) ---> 2O2 (g) + LiCl (s)
If you have 500 g of LiClO4, then how many liters of oxygen will the system make at the station’s standard operating conditions, a pressure of 101.5 kPa and a temperature of 21°C? (Show the steps involved in your work.)

Answer 1

mols LiClO4 = grams/molar mass = ?
Use the coefficients in the balanced equation to convert mols LiClO4 to mols O2.
Now convert mols O2 to L at the conditions listed. Use PV = nRT for that. Beware of units. If you use P in kPa, you must use R = 8.314. If you use P in atmospheres, you must use R = 0.08206