Limiting Reagent and finding amount produced

[Genisis Cabral]

When asked to find how much of a certain product is produced, how would you go about using the limiting reagent to do so? This step is a bit confusing so any clarification is helpful!

[Lauren Seidl 1D]

You would use the moles of the limiting reagent to find how many moles of your product are being produced, as the amount produced is limited by how much of the limiting reactant is present. This requires the use of molar ratios. So say your equation is 2A+3B->C. If you find A to be the limiting reagent and there are 4 moles of A present, then using the ratio 2A:1C would give you 2 moles of C produced.

[Mario Reyes 1C]

I like the car analogy that he used in class. You have to use the limiting reactant to find out how much product can be made, because that is the reactant that limits how much is produced. In other words, that is the maximum amount you can possibly get. In his analogy, he said that tires were the limiting reactant because you need 4 tires per car, and there were only 20 tires. On the other hand there could be 10 steering wheels, but you can't make 10 cars because the amount of tires is limiting that. In finding how much is produced, you have to use mole ratios and convert that to grams if it asks.