In a chemical reaction, the reaction stops as

soon as any of the reactants is totally

consumed, leaving the excess reactants as
leftovers.
 CH4 + 2O2 CO2 +
2 HWe
2O have We have
2.5 mol 6.0 mol

need
3.0 mol

We have
Less than
needed

CH4 is O2 is in
limiting excess
reactant
 2 H2 + O2 2 H2O
Suppose you have a mixture of 10 mol H2 and

7 mol O2, which reacts to form water.

Since the ratio of H2 and O2 is 2:1, the number

of moles of O2 needed to react with H2 is

Moles O2 = (10 moles H2) (1 mol O2)

(2 mol H2)

= 5 mol O2
Because 7 mole O2 was available at the start of

the reaction, 7 mol O2 – 5 mol O2 = 2 mol O2

will still be present when all the H2 is

consumed.
The reactant that is consumed in a reaction is

called the limiting reactant or limiting reagent

because it determines, or limits, the amount of
product formed.

There are no restrictions on the starting

amounts of the reactants in any reaction.

Many reactions are carried out using an

excess of one reagent.

The quantities of reactants consumed and the

quantities of products formed, however, are

restricted by the quantity of the limiting
reactant.
 2 H2 + O 2 2
H2O

Initial quantities: 10 mol 7 mol 0

mol
Change (reaction): - 10 mol - 5 mol
+10 mol

Final quantities: 0 mol 2 mol 10

mol
PRACTICE EXERCISE:
 The most important commercial process for converting N2

from the air into nitrogen-containing compounds is based

on the reaction of N2 & H2 to form ammonia (NH3):

N2 + 3H2 2 NH3

 How many moles of NH3 can be formed from 3.0 mol of N2, and

6.0 mol of H2?

Consider the following reaction:

2Na3PO4 + 3 Ba3 (PO4) 2 Ba (PO4) 2 +

6NaNO

Suppose a solution containing 3.50 g of

Na3PO4 is mixed with a solution containing

6.40 g of Ba3 (PO4) can be formed?

HOMEWORK:
Page 109
3.69
3.70