Final answer:
The limiting reactant in the given reaction is O₂ (oxygen).
Step-by-step explanation:
The limiting reactant is the reactant that is completely consumed in a chemical reaction and determines the amount of product that can be formed. In this case, the reactants are CH₃(CH₂)2CH₃ (pentane) and O₂ (oxygen), and the products are CO₂ (carbon dioxide) and H₂O (water).
To determine the limiting reactant, we need to calculate the moles of each reactant and compare them to the stoichiometric ratio in the balanced chemical equation. The balanced equation is: 2CH₃(CH₂)2CH₃ + 15O₂ → 10CO₂ + 12H₂O.
We can see that the stoichiometric ratio is 2:15 for pentane (CH₃(CH₂)2CH₃) and oxygen (O₂). If we have an equal number of moles of both reactants, we would need 15 times more moles of O₂ to react completely. Therefore, O₂ is the limiting reactant in this reaction.