Question

Sodium chloride can be produced by the reaction of sodium metal with chlorine gas. Which is the limiting reactant if 6.70 moles of Na reacts with 3.20 moles of chlorine gas

Answer 1

Answer:

Chlorine gas.

Explanation:

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In this case, the undergoing chemical reaction is:

$2Na+Cl_2\rightarrow 2NaCl$

Thus, given the moles of reacting both sodium and chlorine, we compute the moles of sodium chloride yielded by each reactant by considering the 2:2 and 1:2 mole ratios:

$n_{NaCl}^{by\ Na}=6.70molNa*\frac{2molNaCl}{2molNa}=6.70molNaCl \\\\n_{NaCl}^{by\ Cl_2}=3.20molCl_2*\frac{2molNaCl}{1molCl_2}=6.40molNaCl$

Thus, since chlorine yields less moles of sodium chloride, we infer it is the limiting reactant.

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