Question

How many moles of water can be produced?

10 moles of hydrogen react with 10 moles of oxygen when burnt to produce water. The equation is shown below.
2H2 + O2 = 2H2O
which is the limiting reactant? how much excess reactant is there?
How many moles of water can be produced?

Answer 1

At most FIVE moles of water can be generated....

Explanation:

We address the stoichiometric equation...

`H_2(g) + 1/2O_2(g) rarr H_2O(l)`

...and this INSISTS that there is a 2:1 molar equivalence between dihydrogen and dioxygen. We gots `10*mol` of dihydrogen, and `10*mol` dioxygen....for the equation AS WRITTEN, there is a stoichiometric excess of dioxygen gas...and at MOST we could form `5 *mol` with respect to water....

Of course we could examine the formation of `"hydrogen peroxide..."`

`H_2(g) + O_2(g) rarr HO-OH(l)`

..and in this scenario we could form at MOST, `10*mol` of `"hydrogen peroxide"`...

How do you know which equation to consider? Well, the former equation is specified by the terms of the question....