Final answer:
The question involves using stoichiometry to calculate the amount of potassium chloride that can be produced from a given amount of potassium and chlorine gas. The answer requires determining the limiting reactant and then calculating the theoretical yield based on the balanced chemical equation and molar masses of the reactants.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is about stoichiometry, the part of chemistry that involves the calculation of the quantities of reactants and products in chemical reactions. Specifically, the question is asking how much potassium chloride (KCl) can be produced from mixing 78 grams of potassium (K) with 71 grams of chlorine gas (Cl2).
To solve this, we need to use the chemical equation for the reaction, which is:
2K + Cl2 → 2KCl
By using the molar masses of potassium (39.0983 g/mol) and chlorine (35.453 g/mol for each atom, but since we're dealing with Cl2, it's 70.906 g/mol for the molecule), we can determine the limiting reactant and then calculate the theoretical yield of potassium chloride.
Since the stoichiometry of the reaction is a 2:1 ratio, we expect two moles of potassium to react with one mole of chlorine gas, forming two moles of potassium chloride for every mole of chlorine gas reacted.