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What is the Difference Between Actual, Percent and Theoretical Yield?

In chemistry, the yield is the quantity of product achieved as a result of a chemical reaction, which is also known as chemical yield and reaction yield. The chemical reaction yield or absolute yield is the amount of the product produced in the reaction pure and dry form. 

The absolute yield weight can be expressed in grams or moles as the molar yield. Generally, in terms of reaction yield, the efficiency of a chemical reaction is stated. The quantity of the limiting reagent at the beginning, however, of a reaction governs the yield of a reaction.

There exist several different types of reaction yields in chemistry, that includes theoretical, actual and percent yield. Each of the yield is distinct from other yields and requires different formula to calculate. However, sometimes students got confuse and mix up their concepts and formulas as well. 

Therefore, in order to remove students’ confusion, the difference between theoretical, actual and percent yield is briefly elaborated in this article.

What is Theoretical Yield?

Theoretical yield is the quantity of the product predicted. It’s the quantity of output product substances we predicted even before the proceeding of the reaction. Theoretical yield is an ideal yield and thus cannot be achieved. 

Because the reaction has to be continued under various optimal circumstances. Moreover, such ideal circumstances have to be perfect and 100% efficient. Under normal circumstances, such conditions cannot be reached. Therefore, theoretical yields are difficult to acquire. 

However, we can define theoretical yield as, on the basis of limiting the reagent’s quantity, the maximum quantity of product that can be achieved after a complete chemical reaction. Moreover, you can calculate theoretical yield online by using a theoretical yield formula calculator.

What is Actual Yield?

The actual yield is the quantity of product that an experimental chemical reaction produces. The actual yield is a measured empirical value in the laboratory as it’s the exact yield we got in a chemical process. It is not an ideal yield, but rather the real quantity of products obtained under regular conditions. The theoretical yield is usually smaller in quantity in comparison to the theoretical yield. The actual yield can neither be predicted nor predicted but is based on reactant efficiency.

What is Percent Yield?

The percent yield is the calculation comparing the amount of product we actually get (actual yield) with the amount of product we calculate we are going to achieve (theoretical yield). As a matter of fact, each reaction generates a bit less product than what was calculated in a real laboratory. 

Therefore, how near to the predicted quantity, the achieved quantity of product is measured in percentage yield.  In other words, the percentage yield is a technique to measure the integrity of a reaction. The percentage yield compares the actual compound yield to the theoretical yield of a reaction.

The percent yield is generally computed to evaluate the effectiveness of a chemical process in organic synthesis. Thus if you feel it complex, then must try the percent yield formula calculator for online calculation of percent yield. 

What is The Difference Between Theoretical, Actual and Percent Yield?

After learning the definitions and implications of the difference yields in chemistry we can now explain the difference between them collectively. Considering above mentioned explanation, the theoretical yield is the predicted yield, which is determined by calculations, while the actual yield is the yield actually received during the reaction. In the same manner, the percent yield is derived by calculating the percentage of the actual yield and the theoretical yield.

For instance, let’s suppose the yield of a reaction after calculation comes out to be 4.35 mg, in contrast when actually performed the experiment, the yield received was 3.21 gm. In this example, the 4.35 gm value is the theoretical yield as this is the anticipated value.

While 3.21 gm is the actual yield as this is the quantity we actually receive after complete reaction of limiting reagent. Moreover, when their percentage is calculated it gives the 73.8%, this value is the percentage yield. 

Wrapping Up

In chemistry, the theoretical, actual, and percent yield are the different types of reaction yields. The calculated yield that we predicted before the beginning of our practical chemical reaction is the theoretical yield.

Contrarily the actual yield is the actual amount of product or yield that we receive after a complete chemical reaction. To quantify the difference between our anticipated and actual quantity of products, a percent yield calculation is done.

Hopefully, you have learned greatly from this article. Also, you can find more educational and other technologies blogs on article soup. So keep attaching yourself with us for advanced learning.

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