Any Hacks?

[Danis Rivera 2C]

Hi!
I’m asking for any tips or tricks you all may have regarding identifying limiting reactants. Is there a way to just look at a chemical equation and know, or must I balance first? Let me know any videos or practice that you have done to perfect your craft, Thank you!

[Anjali Mehra 1A]

Hi, generally there aren't any cheat codes for limiting reactants. The equation must always be balances before using it to solve for limiting reactant, then once you have the moles of either reactant, you can do a quick multiplication by the mole ratio in the equation to solve for the moles of one product given the amounts of reactants. Which ever reactant gives you the smallest moles of the product will be the limiting reactant!

[Hunter Rosales 2C]

Hi guys. I agree with what our classmate mentioned but while what she did mention was correct, I think dividing moles when dealing with coefficients is always a nice shortcut when identifying limiting reactants. However, I would not personally recommend because the process might get confusing as oppose to what we already know which is to balance and the write down the equations we are dealing with.