Question

what would be the limiting and excess reactants if 2.5 moles of NaCl react with 4.5 moles of Ba3(PO4)2

Answer 1

The limiting reactant is NaCl

The excess reactant is Ba3(PO4)2

Step-by-step explanation

Given that;

The number of moles of NaCl is 2.5 moles

The number of moles of Ba3(PO4)2 is 4.5 moles

Follow the steps below to find the limiting and excess reactant

Step 1; Write the balanced equation for the reaction

`\text{ 6NaCl + Ba}_3(PO_4)_2\text{ }\rightarrow\text{ 2Na}_3PO_4\text{ + 3BaCl}_2`

To determine the limiting reactant of the reaction, divide the number of moles of the reactants with their respective coefficients

In the equation above, the coefficient of NaCl is 6, and the coefficient of Ba3(PO4)2 is 1

`\begin{gathered} \text{ For NaCl} \\ \text{ }\frac{\text{ 2.5}}{\text{ 6}}\text{ = 0.416 mol/wt} \\ \\ \text{ For Ba}_3PO_4\text{ } \\ \text{ }\frac{\text{ 4.5}}{1}\text{ = 4.5 mol/wt} \end{gathered}`

In the above calculations, NaCl has the least number of mol/wt, therefore, NaCl is the limiting reactant, and Ba3(PO4)2 is the excess reactant.