Limiting Reactant

Real World Example

Imagine you're planning to make sandwiches for a picnic, but you only have a limited number of slices of bread. In this scenario, much like in a chemical reaction, the number of sandwiches you can make is determined by the ingredient you run out of first, which is the bread. Here, the slices of bread are analogous to the limiting reactant in a chemical reaction; they dictate the maximum number of sandwiches (or product) you can create because once the bread is gone, it doesn't matter how much cheese or ham you have left—no more sandwiches can be made.