Find the limiting reagent.

2 NH4 (g) + 4 CuO (s) ==> N2(g) + 4 Cu(s) + 4H2O (g)

Please explain, thank you!

What's NH4?

To determine the limiting reagent in a chemical reaction, you need to compare the reactant quantities using their stoichiometric coefficients. The limiting reagent is the one that is completely consumed and determines the maximum amount of product that can be formed.

In this reaction, you have two reactants: NH4 and CuO. To find the limiting reagent, you need to calculate the amount of each reactant and compare it to the stoichiometry of the balanced equation.

The stoichiometric coefficients tell you the ratio in which the reactants react. In this case, the ratio is 2:4 between NH4 and CuO, meaning that 2 moles of NH4 react with 4 moles of CuO.

To determine the limiting reagent, you can follow these steps:

1. Convert the given quantities of NH4 and CuO into moles. This requires knowing the molar masses of each compound.

2. Compare the moles of each reactant to the stoichiometric ratio in the balanced equation.

3. The reactant with the smaller number of moles compared to the stoichiometric ratio is the limiting reagent.

Let's calculate the moles of NH4 and CuO:

Molar mass of NH4 = 14.01 g/mol + (4 × 1.01 g/mol) = 18.05 g/mol
Molar mass of CuO = 63.55 g/mol + 16.00 g/mol = 79.55 g/mol

Suppose you have 10 grams of NH4 and 20 grams of CuO.

Moles of NH4 = mass / molar mass = 10 g / 18.05 g/mol = 0.554 mol
Moles of CuO = mass / molar mass = 20 g / 79.55 g/mol = 0.251 mol

Now compare the moles to the stoichiometric ratio of 2:4:

Moles of NH4 / Stoichiometric coefficient of NH4 = 0.554 mol / 2 = 0.277 mol
Moles of CuO / Stoichiometric coefficient of CuO = 0.251 mol / 4 = 0.063 mol

The calculated values show that NH4 has a larger number of moles compared to CuO, which means that CuO is the limiting reagent in this reaction. It will be completely consumed, and NH4 will be in excess.

Therefore, CuO is the limiting reagent in this reaction.