Which condition did you change?
Labs / Chemistry
Limiting Reagent
Pour in however many moles of each reactant you like, then press React. The molecules pair off in the reaction's exact ratio and keep combining until one species is completely used up. Whatever runs out first is the limiting reagent, and the leftover molecules still bouncing around are the excess.
Labs / Chemistry / Limiting Reagent
Limiting Reagent
Pour in however many moles of each reactant you like, then press React. The molecules pair off in the reaction's exact ratio and keep combining until one species is completely used up. Whatever runs out first is the limiting reagent, and the leftover molecules still bouncing around are the excess.
Why it matters
Why explore this?
Chemistry connects events too small to see with changes we can measure. This model helps you link particles, energy, and conditions to an observable result.
Explore
Try the model
H₂ 6 molCl₂ 4 molHCl 0 mollimiting —
Investigate
Questions to test
Predict first, try it in the model, then use what you observe to answer.
What to try
- If you double only one reactant, does twice as much product form — or does the other reactant still cap it?
- Switch to ammonia (N₂ + 3 H₂). Why does 3 mol of H₂ get used up for every 1 mol of N₂?
- Can you set the two amounts so that neither reactant is left over? What ratio does that take?
- After a reaction stops, which molecules are still moving? What does that leftover pile tell you about the excess reagent?
- For water (2 H₂ + O₂), if you have 10 mol H₂ and 10 mol O₂, which one limits the product — and by how much?
Explain
Make sense of what happened
Describe what happened at the particle or energy level, then connect it to the result you saw. A strong explanation names both the cause and the evidence.
Check
Before you leave
What happened to the particles or energy?
What observation supports your explanation?
If you can answer all three using evidence from the model, you understand the main idea. If not, return to Explore and change one setting at a time.