How many moles of PCl3 can form from a mixture of 5 mol of P and 6 mol of Cl2 according to the equation 2P + 3Cl2 �¨ 2PCl3
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To determine the number of moles of PCl3 that can form from the given mixture of P and Cl2, we need to use the stoichiometry of the balanced chemical equation.
The balanced equation is:
2P + 3Cl2 → 2PCl3
From the equation, we can see that 2 moles of P react with 3 moles of Cl2 to form 2 moles of PCl3. This ratio allows us to determine the amount of PCl3 that can form.
Given that we have 5 moles of P and 6 moles of Cl2, we need to determine which reactant will limit the formation of PCl3. This is done by comparing the mole ratios of P and Cl2 to the stoichiometric ratios in the balanced equation.
For P:
5 moles P × (3 moles Cl2 / 2 moles P) = 7.5 moles Cl2
For Cl2:
6 moles Cl2 × (2 moles P / 3 moles Cl2) = 4 moles P
We can see that based on the ratio, we have an excess of Cl2 (4 moles P required, but we have 5 moles) and a limiting amount of P (7.5 moles Cl2 required, but we have 6 moles).
Since Cl2 is the limiting reactant, we use its moles to determine the moles of PCl3 formed.
6 moles Cl2 × (2 moles PCl3 / 3 moles Cl2) = 4 moles PCl3
Therefore, from the given mixture of 5 moles of P and 6 moles of Cl2, only 4 moles of PCl3 can form according to the given equation.