Consider the reaction of magnesium metal with hydrochloric acid to produce magnesium chloride and hydrogen gas. If 3.75 mol of magnesium and 3.75 mol of hydrochloric acid are reacted, how many grams of excess reactant are left over?
a. 1.88 g
b. 91.2 g
c. 68.4 g
d. 1.37x10^2g
e. 45.6 g
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To determine the grams of excess reactant left over, we need to compare the reactant stoichiometry and see which reactant is in excess.
The balanced chemical equation for the reaction is:
Mg + 2HCl -> MgCl2 + H2
From the equation, we can see that the mole ratio between magnesium and hydrochloric acid is 1:2. This means that for every 1 mole of magnesium, we need 2 moles of hydrochloric acid.
Given that we have 3.75 mol of magnesium and 3.75 mol of hydrochloric acid, we can see that the amounts of both reactants are equal. Therefore, neither reactant is in excess and there are no grams of excess reactant left over.
The correct answer is:
a. 1.88 g