What does it mean to say a reactant is present "in excess" in a process? Can the limiting reactant be present in excess? Does the presence of an excess of a reactant affect the mass of products expected for a reaction?

Short Answer

Expert verified
A reactant is present "in excess" if it is present in a greater amount than required to completely react with another reactant. The limiting reactant cannot be present in excess, as its availability limits the reaction's progress. The presence of an excess reactant does not affect the mass of products expected since the mass of products is determined by the stoichiometry of the balanced chemical equation and the limiting reactant.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding "Excess" Reactants

In a chemical process, when a reactant is present in a greater amount than is required to completely react with another reactant, it is said to be present "in excess." This extra amount ensures that one reactant is completely consumed, leaving no unreacted molecules.
02

Limiting Reactant and Excess

The limiting reactant is the reactant that is completely consumed and determines the amount of product produced in a chemical reaction. It cannot be present in excess, as its availability limits the reaction's progress.
03

Effect of Excess Reactants on the Mass of Products

The presence of an excess reactant does not affect the mass of products expected in a reaction. The mass of products is determined by the stoichiometry of the balanced chemical equation and the limiting reactant. Since the limiting reactant determines how much product will be produced, adding more of the excess reactant will not result in the formation of more products.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Silver sulfadiazine burn-treating cream creates a barrier against bacterial invasion and releases antimicrobial agents directly into the wound. If \(25.0 \mathrm{g} \mathrm{Ag}_{2} \mathrm{O}\) is reacted with \(50.0 \mathrm{g}\) \(\mathrm{C}_{10} \mathrm{H}_{10} \mathrm{N}_{4} \mathrm{SO}_{2},\) what mass of silver sulfadiazine, \(\mathrm{AgC}_{10} \mathrm{H}_{9} \mathrm{N}_{4} \mathrm{SO}_{2},\) can be produced, assuming \(100 \%\) yield? $$\mathrm{Ag}_{2} \mathrm{O}(s)+2 \mathrm{C}_{10} \mathrm{H}_{10} \mathrm{N}_{4} \mathrm{SO}_{2}(s) \longrightarrow 2 \mathrm{AgC}_{10} \mathrm{H}_{9} \mathrm{N}_{4} \mathrm{SO}_{2}(s)+\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}(l)$$

Which of the following statements about chemical equations is(are) true? a. When balancing a chemical equation, you can never change the coefficient in front of any chemical formula. b. The coefficients in a balanced chemical equation refer to the number of grams of reactants and products. c. In a chemical equation, the reactants are on the right and the products are on the left. d. When balancing a chemical equation, you can never change the subscripts of any chemical formula. e. In chemical reactions, matter is neither created nor destroyed so a chemical equation must have the same number of atoms on both sides of the equation.

A 0.755-g sample of hydrated copper(II) sulfate $$\mathrm{CuSO}_{4} \cdot x \mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}$$ was heated carefully until it had changed completely to anhydrous copper(II) sulfate (CuSO_) with a mass of 0.483 g. Determine the value of \(x .\) [This number is called the number of waters of hydration of copper(II) sulfate. It specifies the number of water molecules per formula unit of \(\mathrm{CuSO}_{4}\) in the hydrated crystal.]

When aluminum metal is heated with an element from Group 6A of the periodic table, an ionic compound forms. When the experiment is performed with an unknown Group 6 A element, the product is \(18.56 \%\) Al by mass. What is the formula of the compound?

Aspirin \(\left(\mathrm{C}_{9} \mathrm{H}_{8} \mathrm{O}_{4}\right)\) is synthesized by reacting salicylic acid \(\left(\mathrm{C}_{7} \mathrm{H}_{6} \mathrm{O}_{3}\right)\) with acetic anhydride \(\left(\mathrm{C}_{4} \mathrm{H}_{6} \mathrm{O}_{3}\right) .\) The balanced equation is $$\mathrm{C}_{7} \mathrm{H}_{6} \mathrm{O}_{3}+\mathrm{C}_{4} \mathrm{H}_{6} \mathrm{O}_{3} \longrightarrow \mathrm{C}_{9} \mathrm{H}_{8} \mathrm{O}_{4}+\mathrm{HC}_{2} \mathrm{H}_{3} \mathrm{O}_{2}$$ a. What mass of acetic anhydride is needed to completely consume \(1.00 \times 10^{2}\) g salicylic acid? b. What is the maximum mass of aspirin (the theoretical yield) that could be produced in this reaction?

See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Chemistry Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free