Answer: O2 is the limiting reactant
Step-by-step explanation:
The limiting reactant in a chemical reaction is the reactant that is completely consumed first and thus determines when the reaction stops. To find the limiting reactant, we need to compare the mole ratios of the reactants with the coefficients in the balanced chemical equation.
The balanced chemical equation is:
C10H8 + 12O2 → 10CO2 + 4H2O
From the balanced equation, we can see that 1 mole of C10H8 reacts with 12 moles of O2.
- We have 11 moles of O2.
- We have 1.1 moles of C10H8.
If we had exactly 1 mole of C10H8, we would need 12 moles of O2. But since we have 1.1 moles of C10H8, we would need 1.1 * 12 = 13.2 moles of O2.
Since we only have 11 moles of O2, and we need 13.2 moles to completely react with all the C10H8, O2 is the limiting reactant.