Question

The limiting reactant in a reaction a. is the reactant for which there is the least amount in grams b. is the reactant which has the lowest coefficient in a balanced equation c. is the reactant for which there is the most amount in grams d. is the reactant for which there is the fewest number of moles e. none of the above

Answer 1

The limiting reagent is the reactant that produces the least amount of product. Mass-mass calculations help determine this. The reactant that gives the lesser amount of product is the limiting reactant.

Step-by-step explanation:

The limiting reagent is the reactant that produces the least amount of product. Mass-mass calculations can determine how much product is produced and how much of the other reactants remain. The key to recognizing which reactant is the limiting reagent is based on a mole-mass or mass-mass calculation: whichever reactant gives the lesser amount of product is the limiting reagent. For example, consider this reaction:

2A + 3B → C

If you have 4 moles of A and 5 moles of B, you can calculate the amount of product C formed from each reactant as follows:

4 moles A * (1 mole C / 2 moles A) = 2 moles C

5 moles B * (1 mole C / 3 moles B) = 1.67 moles C

From this calculation, you can see that A would be the limiting reagent since it produces the least amount of product C.

Answer 2

Actually the correct answer must be:

The limiting reactant in the reaction is the one which has the lowest ratio of moles available over coefficient in the balanced equation

This is because the actual mass or number of moles of the reactant does not directly dictate if it is a limiting reactant, this must be relative to the other reactants.

So the answer is:

e. none of the above