CHEMISTRY LIMITING REACTANT

Question

The following data was collected when a reaction was performed experimentally in the laboratory.

	Reactants		Products
	Al(NO3)3	NaCl	NaNO3	AlCl3
Starting Amount in Reaction	4 moles	9 moles	?	?

Determine the maximum amount of AlCl3 that was produced during the experiment. Explain how you determined this amount.

Answer 1

1. Balance the reaction:
2. Al(NO₃)₃ + NaCl → NaNO₃ + AlCl₃
3. Balance Cl: Al(NO₃)₃ + 3NaCl → NaNO₃ + AlCl₃
4. Balance Na: Al(NO₃)₃ + 3NaCl → 3NaNO₃ + AlCl₃
5. Determine maximum amount of AlCl₃ using given amounts of each reactant and molar ratios:
6. 4 moles Al(NO₃)₃ * 1 mol AlCl₃ / 1 mol Al(NO₃)₃ = 4 moles AlCl₃
7. 9 moles NaCl * 1 mol AlCl₃ / 3 mol NaCl = 3 moles AlCl₃
8. Because 9 moles of NaCl produces fewer moles of AlCl₃ than does 4 moles of Al(NO₃)₃, it's the limiting reactant and it determines the maximum amount of AlCl₃ that can be produced.