Science Please Help

Question

3 Ba + Al₂(SO₄ )₃ → 2 Al + 3BaSO₄

If you have 17 moles of Ba and 5 moles of Al₂(SO₄)₃, what is the limiting reactant?

Answer 1

An easy way to find the limiting reactant is to simply divide the moles of each reactant by the respective coefficient in the balanced equation. The coefficient for Ba is 3 so we divide 17 by 3 and get 5.67.

The coefficient for Al₂(SO₄)₃ is 1 so we divide 5 by 1 and get 5.00

Since 5.00 is less than 5.67, Al₂(SO₄)₃ is limiting.

Answer 2

To determine the limiting reactant, proceed like follows:

Let's find what quantity of Al₂(SO₄)₃ is needed to react 17 moles of Ba

Therefore, we need to use the molar ration

17molBa * 1molAl₂(SO₄)₃ / 3mol Ba = 5.7mol Al₂(SO₄)₃ NEEDED

We can see that the amount of Al₂(SO₄)₃ needed is greater than what we have (5.7 mol vs. 5mol)

Therefore Al₂(SO₄)₃ is the limiting reactant