What is the limiting reactant when 2.0 moles of C3H8 react with 2.0 moles of O2?

To determine the limiting reactant in the reaction between C3H8 (propane) and O2 (oxygen), we must first consider the balanced chemical equation for the combustion of propane:

[ C3H8 + 5O2 \rightarrow 3CO2 + 4H2O ]

From the balanced equation, we can see that one mole of propane requires five moles of oxygen for complete combustion. This stoichiometric relationship is essential for identifying the limiting reactant.

Given that there are 2.0 moles of each reactant, we can calculate how much O2 is needed for the 2.0 moles of C3H8:

• If we have 2.0 moles of C3H8, the amount of O2 required would be:

[ 2.0 , \text{moles C3H8} \times \frac{5 , \text{moles O2}}{1 , \text{mole C3H8}} = 10.0 , \text{moles O2} ]

Since we only have 2.0 moles of O2 available, it is clear that we do not