Other Stoichiometry Variations - Gas Volumes, Density, Molarity

Stoichiometry calculations were once used to save three astronauts during the Apollo 13 space mission. While carrying the astronauts to the moon, the spacecraft experienced an explosion in one of the oxygen tanks. The crew had to make careful stoichiometric calculations to determine whether the reaction of carbon dioxide and lithium hydroxide would remove enough carbon dioxide to get the entire crew back to Earth.

In this topic, you will learn that stoichiometry is used to make calculations involving not just mass, but also density, concentration of solutions, and volumes of gas. This was extremely important in the calculations that were made by the crew of Apollo 13. The basic principles of dimensional analysis are still used, but there will be more conversion factors to consider.

Essential Question

  • How are conversions made involving volumes of gases, density, and molarity?