If 3 moles of calcium reacted with 3 moles of oxygen,which is limiting and excess reactant?
To determine the limiting and excess reactant, we need to compare the stoichiometric coefficients of the balanced chemical equation.
The balanced chemical equation representing the reaction between calcium (Ca) and oxygen (O₂) is:
2 Ca + O₂ → 2 CaO
We can see that the stoichiometric coefficient for calcium is 2, while the stoichiometric coefficient for oxygen is 1. This means that for every 2 moles of calcium, we need 1 mole of oxygen.
Given that we have 3 moles of calcium and 3 moles of oxygen, we can calculate the number of moles of calcium and oxygen required according to the stoichiometry:
For 3 moles of calcium: (3 moles Ca) × (1 mole O₂ / 2 moles Ca) = 1.5 moles of oxygen required
As we can see, we need 1.5 moles of oxygen to react with the 3 moles of calcium. However, we only have 3 moles of oxygen available. This means that oxygen is the limiting reactant.
Calcium is the excess reactant since we have more moles of it than the stoichiometry requires.