Final answer:
For the student's question, the limiting reactant is identified by comparing the mole ratio of reactants to the balanced chemical equation. The theoretical yield is then calculated using the amount of the limiting reactant. In one scenario provided, nitrogen would be the limiting reactant when reacting with hydrogen to produce ammonia.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Limiting Reactants and Theoretical Yield
The concept of limiting reactants is fundamental in stoichiometric calculations, which determine the amounts of substances consumed and produced in chemical reactions. In the scenario presented, we have two reactions: one involves HNO3 and Na2CO3, and the other involves nitrogen and hydrogen reacting to produce ammonia. To solve such problems, follow these steps:
- Write the balanced chemical equation for the reaction.
- Convert the given masses of the reactants to moles using their respective molar masses.
- Use the mole ratios from the balanced equation to identify the limiting reactant.
- With the limiting reactant known, calculate the number of moles of the product that can be formed.
- Finally, convert the number of moles of product to its mass to find the theoretical yield.
The properties of the resulting solution from the first example reaction would include the characteristics of the resultant sodium nitrate in solution. For the given nitrogen to hydrogen reaction, if we had 6.2 grams of nitrogen and 6.2 grams of hydrogen, the limiting reactant would be nitrogen because it has a larger molar mass and thus provides fewer moles than hydrogen. The corresponding theoretical yield of ammonia would be calculated by the stoichiometry of the balanced equation for this reaction, which is N2 + 3H2 → 2NH3.