Question

If 4.23 moles of S8 react with 2.11 moles of Cl2, how many moles of disulfur dichloride (S2Cl2) are produced? Which reactant is the limiting reactant and which is the reactant in excess?

Answer 1

Cl2 is the limiting reactant in the reaction between S8 and Cl2 to produce S2Cl2, with 2.11 moles of Cl2 producing 2.11 moles of S2Cl2, and S8 is the reactant in excess.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the number of moles of disulfur dichloride (S2Cl2) produced when 4.23 moles of S8 react with 2.11 moles of Cl2, we must first examine the balanced chemical equation for the reaction:

S8 + 4Cl2 → 4S2Cl2

From the balanced equation, we can see that 1 mole of S8 reacts with 4 moles of Cl2 to produce 4 moles of S2Cl2. Thus, the number of moles of Cl2 needed to fully react with 4.23 moles of S8 is 4 times that amount, which is 16.92 moles. Since only 2.11 moles of Cl2 are available, Cl2 is the limiting reactant, which means it will be completely consumed first.

Based on the stoichiometry of the reaction, each mole of Cl2 produces one mole of S2Cl2, so 2.11 moles of Cl2 will produce 2.11 moles of S2Cl2 before the reaction stops due to Cl2 being used up. Therefore, S8 is the reactant in excess.