Key Concepts: Percent Yield

Core Definitions

• Actual Yield: The amount of product actually obtained from an experiment.
• Theoretical Yield: The maximum amount of product calculated from stoichiometry (from limiting reagent).
• Percent Yield: (Actual yield / Theoretical yield) × 100%.
• Why Less Than 100%: Side reactions, incomplete reactions, loss during transfer, or impurities.
• 100% Yield: Means the actual yield equals the theoretical yield (rare in practice).
• Greater Than 100%: Usually indicates experimental error (e.g., impurities adding mass).