When one reactant is used up before the other reactants, a chemical reaction will not continue forward, leaving excess reactants that go unreacted. We can determine the amount of the excess reactants and the reactant that is used up, which is referred to as the limiting reactant.
3.7 Limiting Reactants
When one reactant is used up before the other reactants, a chemical reaction will not continue forward, leaving excess reactants that go unreacted. We can determine the amount of the excess reactants and the reactant that is used up, which is referred to as the limiting reactant.
3.7 Excess Reactant Remaining Example
The theoretical calculations we determine on paper operate under the assumption that we maintain 100% efficiency throughout a chemical reaction. In the laboratory, 100% efficiency is rarely maintained. The amount of product recovered in the lab is called the actual yield. The percent yield of a reaction relates the actual and theoretical yields.
3.7 Percent Yield