Limiting and Excess Reactants

Very few chemical reactions turn out to have exactly the right amount of reactants that would enable the reaction to go to completion without any “leftovers”. These leftover chemicals are called the excess reactants. The substance that gets entirely used up is called the limiting reactant. In this topic, you will investigate limiting and excess reactants. You will also learn how to determine both of these reactants.

Essential Question

• How are the excess and limiting reactants determined in a reaction?