Question

The equation below shows lithium reacting with nitrogen to produce lithium nitride.

6Li + N2 Right arrow. 2Li3N

If 12 mol of lithium were reacted with excess nitrogen gas, how many moles of lithium nitride would be produced?
4.0 mol
6.0 mol
12 mol
36 mol

Answer 1

The balanced equation shows that 6 moles of lithium react with 1 mole of nitrogen gas to produce 2 moles of lithium nitride.

Since the reaction ratio is 6:2, or simplified as 3:1, we can determine the number of moles of lithium nitride produced by dividing the number of moles of lithium by 3.

If 12 moles of lithium were reacted, dividing that by 3 gives us 4 moles of lithium nitride. Therefore, the correct answer is 4.0 mol.