Question

Al₂O₃ +9Fe → 3Fe₃O₄ + 8AI

If there are 10.2 grams of Al₂O₃ and 11.2 grams of Fe, which statement
identifies the limiting reagent in this reaction and best supports that claim?
A. Fe is the limiting reagent, because 9 moles of Fe are required for
every 4 moles of Al₂O₃.
B. Al₂O₃ is the limiting reagent, because there are only 0.1 moles of
Al₂O₃ and twice as many moles of Fe.
O C. Al₂O₃ is the limiting reagent, because there are fewer grams of it
present
D. Fe is the limiting reagent, because the reaction requires nearly
twice the mass of Fe as of Al₂O₃.

Answer 1

Al₂O₃ is the limiting reagent in this reaction because it produces a smaller amount of product than Fe.

Step-by-step explanation:

To identify the limiting reagent in a chemical reaction, we need to compare the amount of product that can be produced by each reactant. According to the balanced equation, the mole ratio between Al₂O₃ and Fe is 1:9. Therefore, we need 9 moles of Fe for every 1 mole of Al₂O₃.

Given that we have 10.2 grams of Al₂O₃ and 11.2 grams of Fe, we can convert these masses to moles and calculate the amount of product that can be formed. The reactant that produces the smaller amount of product is the limiting reagent, as it will be completely consumed in the reaction. In this case, we find that 10.2 grams of Al₂O₃ corresponds to 0.071 moles of Al₂O₃, while 11.2 grams of Fe corresponds to 0.2 moles of Fe. Therefore, Al₂O₃ is the limiting reagent because it produces a smaller amount of product than Fe.