in excess
The stoichiometry of a reaction describes the relative amounts of reactants and products in a balanced chemical equation. A stoichiometric quantity of a reactant is the amount necessary to react completely with the other reactant s . If a quantity of a reactant remains unconsumed after complete reaction has occurred, it is in excess. The reactant that is consumed first and limits the amount of product s that can be obtained is the limiting reactant. To identify the limiting reactant, calculate the number of moles of each reactant present and compare this ratio to the mole ratio of the reactants in the balanced chemical equation. The maximum amount of product s that can be obtained in a reaction from a given amount of reactant s is the theoretical yield of the reaction. The actual yieldis the amount of product s actually obtained in the reaction; it cannot exceed the theoretical yield. The percent yield of a reaction is the ratio of the actual yield to the theoretical yield, expressed as a percentage.