Textbook Problem M.5

[Ariella Sassover 3A]

5. Solve this exercise without using a calculator. The reaction 6 ClO2 + 2 BrF3 → 6 ClO2F + Br2 is carried out with 12 mol ClO2 and 5 mol BrF3 .
(a) Identify the excess reactant.
(b) Estimate how many moles of each product will be produced and how many moles of the excess reactant will remain.

I understand how to calculate the excess reactant and find that BrF3 is the excess reactant. However, I do not know how to determine how many moles of each product (ClO2f and Br2) will be produced and also how many moles of excess reactant will remain.

[Kelly Bui 2I]

You can think of it like this. There are 12 mol ClO2 and 5 mol BrF3. In the chemical equation, 6 mol ClO2 and 2 mol BrF3 make 6 mol ClO2F and 1 mol Br2. Since you have 12 mol ClO2, you can run the reaction twice to get 12 mol ClO2F. And since you ran the reaction twice, you would also use up 4 mol BrF3 to get 2 mol Br2. There is 1 mol of BrF3 left over since you ran out of moles of ClO2 to continue the reaction.