Stoichiometry Balloon Races

If a little is good, more is better, right? Increasing the mass of a reactant in a chemical reaction may not increase the amount of product that can be formed—the yield may be “limited” based on the mole ratio of reactants. Demonstrate the concept of limiting and excess reactants by comparing the amount of carbon dioxide obtained when varying amounts of sodium bicarbonate react with a constant amount of acetic acid. It’s off to the races . . .