Question

For the reaction HCI + NaOH --> NaCl + H20, which is the limiting reactant given 250.0g of sodium hydroxide and 150.0g of hydrochloric acid?

A) hydrochloric acid
B) Sodium hydroxide
C) sodium chloride
D) water

Answer 1

The limiting reactant in the reaction HCI + NaOH → NaCl + H20 is hydrochloric acid (HCl).

Step-by-step explanation:

In the reaction HCI + NaOH → NaCl + H20, the limiting reactant is the reactant that gets completely consumed and determines the amount of product that can be formed. To determine the limiting reactant, we need to calculate the moles of each reactant using their respective molar masses.

The molar mass of NaOH is 40.00 g/mol, so 250.0g of NaOH is equal to 250.0g/40.00 g/mol = 6.25 mol.

The molar mass of HCl is 36.46 g/mol, so 150.0g of HCl is equal to 150.0g/36.46 g/mol = 4.11 mol.

Since the reaction requires 1 mole of NaOH for 1 mole of HCl, and there is an excess of NaOH in this case (6.25 mol > 4.11 mol), the limiting reactant is hydrochloric acid (HCl).