Percent yield is the percent ratio of actual yield to the theoretical yield. It is calculated to be the experimental yield divided by the theoretical yield multiplied by 100%. If the actual and theoretical yield are the same, percent yield is 100%. Usually, percent yield is lower than 100% because the actual yield is often less than the theoretical value. Reasons for this can include incomplete or competing reactions and loss of sample during recovery.
It's possible for percent yield to be over 100%, which means more sample was recovered from a reaction than predicted. This can happen when other reactions occurred that also formed the product. It can also be a source of error if the excess is due to incomplete removal of water or other impurities from the sample. Percent yield is always a positive value.
Also Known As: percentage yield
What is the Percent Yield Formula?
The equation for percent yield is:
percent yield = (actual yield/theoretical yield) x 100%
Where:
- actual yield is the amount of product obtained from a chemical reaction
- theoretical yield is the amount of product obtained from the stoichiometric or balanced equation, using the limiting reactant to determine product
Units for both actual and theoretical yield need to be the same (moles or grams).
Example Percent Yield Calculation
For example, the decomposition of magnesium carbonate forms 15 grams of magnesium oxide in an experiment. The theoretical yield is known to be 19 grams. What is the percent yield of magnesium oxide?
MgCO3 → MgO + CO2
The calculation is simple if you know the actual and theoretical yields. All you need to do is plug the values into the formula:
percent yield = actual yield / theoretical yield x 100%
percent yield = 15 g / 19 g x 100%
percent yield = 79%
Usually, you have to calculate the theoretical yield based on the balanced equation. In this equation, the reactant and the product have a 1:1 mole ratio, so if you know the amount of reactant, you know the theoretical yield is the same value in moles (not grams!). You take the number of grams of reactant you have, convert it to moles, and then use this number of moles to find out how many grams of product to expect.
FAQs
What is Percent Yield? In chemistry, percent yield is the percent ratio of the weight of the product obtained to the theoretical yield. We calculate the percent yield by dividing the experimental yield by the theoretical yield and multiplying the result by 100 to express the final answer in %.
What is percent yield in chemistry? ›
Percent Yield is defined as the actual yield divided by the theoretical yield times 100. There are many reasons why the actual yield of a chemical reaction may be less than the theoretical yield, and these will be taken up during later Chapters of the course.
Why do chemists use percent yield? ›
Chemists use percent yield calculations to determine how efficient a reaction is, which can help them identify potential problems in their processes. By calculating the percent yield, they can optimize their reaction conditions and increase the efficiency of their processes.
Why is percent yield important in all chemistry lab calculations? ›
Besides spills and other experimental errors, there are often losses due to an incomplete reaction, undesirable side reactions, etc. Chemists need a measurement that indicates how successful a reaction has been. This measurement is called the percent yield.
What is percentage yield in chemistry IB? ›
To calculate the percentage yield, we use the formula: Percentage Yield = (Actual Yield / Theoretical Yield) x 100%.
How to calculate actual yield in chemistry? ›
The formula to determine actual yield is simple: you multiply the percentage and theoretical yield together.
What is the concept of yield? ›
What Is Yield? The yield of a stock, bond, or other asset is the amount of money its investors are paid. An investment's yield includes the interest it earns or the dividends paid to investors. Yield is expressed as a percentage based on the invested amount, the current market value, or the face value of the security.
What is the percentage yield theory? ›
The measured amount of product that is made from a given amount of reactant is the actual yield. The percent yield is the actual yield divided by the theoretical yield and multiplied by 100%. Percent yield = actual yield / theoretical yield x 100%.
What is the reason for percentage yield? ›
Reasons for this can include incomplete or competing reactions and loss of sample during recovery. It's possible for percent yield to be over 100%, which means more sample was recovered from a reaction than predicted. This can happen when other reactions occurred that also formed the product.
Is it common for chemists to get 100% yields? ›
There are a few reasons why percentage yield will never be 100%. This could be because other, unexpected reactions occur which don't produce the desired product, not all of the reactants are used in the reaction, or perhaps when the product was removed from the reaction vessel it was not all collected.
Percent yield represents the ratio between what is experimentally obtained and what is theoretically calculated, multiplied by 100%. So, let's say you want to do an experiment in the lab. You want to measure how much water is produced when 12.0 g of glucose ( C6H12O6 ) is burned with enough oxygen.
Why is 100% yield impossible? ›
The main reason being that it is extremely difficult for a reaction to truly complete itself 100%. The other being due to human error including uncertainties, measurements, and lose of product. There is also a very small possibility of actual yield being higher due to an impure product.
What does the percent yield convey about a chemical reaction? ›
Percent yield of the reaction is the percent ratio of actual yield to the theoretical yield. It is calculated to be the experimental yield divided by theoretical yield multiplied by 100%. Percent yield is a measure of how much of the reactants are converted to product.
What is a good percent yield in Chem? ›
According to the 1996 edition of Vogel's Textbook, yields close to 100% are called quantitative, yields above 90% are called excellent, yields above 80% are very good, yields above 70% are good, yields above 50% are fair, and yields below 40% are called poor.
Is percent yield part of stoichiometry? ›
The ratio of actual yield to theoretical yield expressed in percentage is called the percentage yield. Chemical reaction equations give the ideal stoichiometric relationship among reactants and products. Thus, the theoretical yield can be calculated from reaction stoichiometry.
What is the percent yield in a chemical reaction lab? ›
The percent yield of a reaction tells us how well the reaction worked in terms of forming a desired product. Remember, “Actual Over Theoretical Times 100.” The unit of the amounts may be in grams or moles. Usually we use grams, since we will have weighed the product on a balance in gram units.
What does an 80% yield mean? ›
0 grams8. 0 grams×100%=80% This indicates that the reaction had an 80% yield, meaning 80% of the predicted product was successfully produced.
What does a yield of 5% mean? ›
What Does the Dividend Yield Tell You? The dividend yield is a financial ratio that tells you the percentage of a company's share price that it pays out in dividends each year. For example, if a company has a $20 share price and pays a dividend of $1 per year, its dividend yield would be 5%.
What does a 90% percent yield mean? ›
Think of percent yield as a grade for the experiment: 90 is great, 70-80 very good, 50-70 good, 40-50 acceptable, 20-40 poor, 5-20 very poor, etc. What's the difference between a 79.8 and an 80.0% yield? Nothing!
How do you calculate yield? ›
How is yield calculated? Yield is calculated by dividing the income derived from the ownership of an asset over a certain time period—often a year—by the value or purchase price of that asset. Let's take a look at how to calculate the yield of a few different types of assets.