Limiting Reactants and

Percent Yield
AP Chemistry
 What is a Limiting Reactant?
• It is the reactant in a reaction that determines
how much product can be made.
• It is whatever reactant you have the least amount
of.
• If you are making a bicycle and you have all the
parts to make 100 bikes, but only 4 wheels
available, how many bikes can you make?
• What is the limiting “part”?
• For chemistry, it is whatever has the least amount
of moles.
 Use the steps below to solve the following
problem to determine the limiting reactant.
1. Write a balanced equation.
2. Do a separate mass to mass problem starting with
each reactant. The smaller answer is correct.

To find out how much of the excess reactant is left over,

1. Start with the initial mass of the limiting reactant and
2. Do a mass to mass problem to determine how much of
the excess reactant was needed.
3. Subtract that value from the initial mass of the excess
reactant.
1. What volume of hydrogen gas at STP is produced
from the reaction of 50.0g of Mg and 75.0 grams of
HCl? How much of the excess reagent is left over (in
grams)?
Mg(s) + 2 HCl(aq)  MgCl2(s) + H2(g)
Do a standard mass to mass problem starting with each reactant

50.0 gMg 1mol Mg 1mol H2 22.4 L = 46.1 L H

2
24.31g Mg 1mol Mg 1mol H2

75.0 g HCl 1mol HCl 1 mole H2 22.4 L = 23.0 L H

2
36.46 g HCl 2mol HCl 1mol H2

HCl is the limiting reactant!!

 How much of the excess reactant is
left over?
• Start with the initial mass of the limiting
reactant and do a mass to mass with the other
reactant.
• 75.0g HCl 1mol HCl 1mol Mg 24.31g Mg
36.46g HCl 2mol HCl 1mol Mg

= 25.0 grams Mg needed for the reaction

Thus, 50.0 grams – 25.0 grams =
25.0 grams Mg leftover!
 2. What masses of calcium sulfate and phosphoric acid
can be produced from the reaction of 1.0 kg calcium
phosphate with 1.0 kg concentrated sulfuric acid (98%
H2SO4 by mass)?
Ca3(PO4) 2 (s) + 3 H2SO4(aq)  3 CaSO4(s) + 2H3PO4(aq)
1000g Ca3(PO4)2 1mol Ca3(PO4)2 3mol CaSO4 136.15g CaSO4
310.18g 1 mol Ca3(PO4)2 1mol CaSO4 = 1317 g

980 g H2SO4 1mol H2SO4 3mol CaSO4 136.15g CaSO4

98.09g H2SO4 3mol H2SO4 1mol CaSO4 = 1360 g

•Calcium phosphate is the limiting reactant.

•Starting with calcium phosphate, a mass to mass problem
gives 632 grams phosphoric acid will form!
 Percent Yield
• Percent Yield describes how much product was actually made in the
lab versus the amount that theoretically could be made.

• Reactions do not always work perfectly. Experimental error (spills,

contamination) often means that the amount of product made in the
lab does not match the ideal amount that could have been made.

•  Theoretical Yield = The maximum amount of product that could be

formed from given amounts of reactants. (you get this from doing a
mass to mass Stoichiometry calculation!)
•  Actual Yield = The amount of product actually formed or recovered
when the reaction is carried out in the laboratory.
•
• % Yield = Actual Yield X 100
Theoretical Yield
• Example - When copper is heated with an excess of
sulfur, copper(I)sulfide is formed. In a given
experiment, 1.50 g copper was heated with excess
sulfur to yield 1.76 g copper(I) sulfide. What is the
theoretical yield? What is the percent yield?

Write balanced reaction 2 Cu + S  Cu2S

Determine theoretical yield – doing a mass to mass problem

1.50g Cu 1 mol Cu 1mol Cu2S 159.17g Cu2S =1.88 g

63.55g Cu 2 mol Cu 1mol Cu2S
Cu2S

Percent Yield = 1.76 g x 100 = 93.6 %

1.88g