Question

Phosphoric acid reacts with sodium hydroxide: H3PO4(aq) + 3NaOH(aq) ---> Na3PO4(aq) + H2O(l)If 7.50 mol H3PO4 is made to react with 15.0 mol NaOH, identify the limiting reagent. Show all work! 4 points

Answer 1

Answer:NaOH is the limiting reagent.

Step-by-step explanation:

The limiting reagent is the reactant that is totally consumed when the reaction is complete.

The given reaction is

`H_(3)PO_(4)+3NaOH`→
`Na_(3)PO_(4)+H_(2)O`

The reaction says that every mole of
`H_(3)PO_(4)` requires
`3` moles of
`NaOH`.

Given that number of moles of
`H_(3)PO_(4)` is
`7.5`

So,
`3* 7.5=22.5` moles of
`NaOH` is required.

But only
`15` moles of
`NaOH` is available.

This means that
`NaOH` will be completely consumed.

So,
`NaOH` is the limiting reagent.