Question

Define limiting reagent. Give a suitable example.

Answer 1

The limiting reagent is the reactant that is completely consumed first in a chemical reaction and therefore limits the amount of product formed.

Example:

\[\ce{2H2 + O2 -> 2H2O}\]

If 2 moles of H₂ react with 2 moles of O₂, then H₂ is the limiting reagent because it is completely used up first, while some O₂ remains unreacted.