Answer:
Silicon is the limiting reactant and nitrogen the excess reactant.
Explanation:
Hello,
In this case, the undergoing chemical reaction is:
[tex]3Si+2N_2\rightarrow Si_3N_4[/tex]
Thus, to identify the limiting reactant, we shall compute the available moles of silicon and the moles of silicon that will be consumed by the 500 g of gaseous nitrogen, considering their 3:2 molar ratio in the chemical reaction, as shown below:
[tex]n_{Si}^{available}=600gSi*\frac{1molSi}{28.1gSi} =21.4molSi\\n_{Si}^{consumed\ by\ N_2}=500gN_2*\frac{1molN_2}{14gN_2} *\frac{3molSi}{2molN_2} =53.6molSi[/tex]
Hence, we notice that 500 g of nitrogen will consume 53.6 moles of silicon but 21.4 moles are available only, for that reason, silicon is the limiting reactant and nitrogen the excess reactant.
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