Limiting reactant

The limiting reactant is the substance in a chemical reaction that runs out first, stopping the reaction from continuing. Think of it like ingredients in a recipe: if you have a certain amount of flour and eggs, and you run out of flour first, you can’t make any more cake even if you still have eggs. The limiting reactant determines the maximum amount of product that can be formed in the reaction. Once it’s used up, the reaction stops, regardless of how much of other reactants are left.