Final answer:
The limiting reactant in the reaction between 11.0 mol of C₂H₂ and 3.0 mol of O₂ is O₂.
Step-by-step explanation:
The limiting reactant is the one that will be completely consumed in the reaction. To determine the limiting reactant, we need to calculate the amount of product that can be formed from each reactant. The reactant that produces the least amount of product is the limiting reactant.
In this case, we have 11.0 mol of C₂H₂ and 3.0 mol of O₂. The balanced chemical equation is:
2C₂H₂ + 5O₂ → 4CO₂ + 2H₂O
Using the stoichiometry of the equation, we can calculate the amount of product that can be formed from each reactant:
From 11.0 mol of C₂H₂, we can form:
(11.0 mol C₂H₂) × (4 mol CO₂ / 2 mol C₂H₂) = 22.0 mol CO₂
From 3.0 mol of O₂, we can form:
(3.0 mol O₂) × (4 mol CO₂ / 5 mol O₂) = 2.4 mol CO₂
Since the amount of CO₂ that can be formed from C₂H₂ is greater than the amount that can be formed from O₂, the limiting reactant is O₂. Therefore, the chemical formula of the limiting reactant is O₂.