Stoichiometry, the Carbon Cycle, and Limiting Reagents

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering the carbon cycle, stoichiometric calculations, and limiting versus excess reagents from the lecture.

Carbon cycle

The natural process showing how carbon atoms cycle through Earth's atmosphere and biosphere.

Carbon dioxide

A greenhouse gas present in the atmosphere that keeps the planet warm enough to sustain liquid water.

Molar ratio

A stoichiometric conversion factor (such as $3\text{ moles of } O_2$ for every $4\text{ moles of } Al$) set up in dimensional analysis to cancel units and determine the amount of another substance.

Limiting reagent

The ingredient or reactant that limits how much product can be formed and is completely consumed, leaving none remaining when product formation finishes.

Excess reactant

Any reagent or ingredient in a reaction that has an unused quantity left over after the limiting reagent has been fully consumed.

Stoichiometrically equivalent amounts

A condition in which reactants are present in exact matching proportions, allowing more than one reactant to be completely consumed simultaneously.