Final answer:
The limiting reactant is determined by calculating which reactant produces the lesser amount of product using the stoichiometric ratios from the balanced equation. This involves converting masses of reactants to moles and then comparing the potential product amounts.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the limiting reactant in the reaction 2Li(s) + F₂(g) → 2LiF(s), you must first calculate the amount of product that can be produced from each provided quantity of reactant. Whichever reactant yields the lesser amount of product is the limiting reactant. This can be calculated using stoichiometric ratios from the balanced chemical equation. For example, if we have 2.85x10³ g Li and 6.79x10³ g F₂, we first convert these mass quantities to moles and then use the molar ratio from the balanced equation to see which will yield less product.
For instance:
- Calculate moles of Li:
- Calculate moles of F₂:
- Compare moles of product formed from moles of each reactant using stoichiometry
This approach can be applied to each set of initial reactant quantities to identify the limiting reactant for each situation.