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Chapter 3: Problem 87

Why is the theoretical yield of a reaction determined only by the amount of the limiting reactant?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The theoretical yield of a reaction is determined by the limiting reactant because the reaction stops once the limiting reactant is expended, irrespective of the amounts of other reactants. This sets an upper limit to the amount of product that can be formed, known as the theoretical yield.

Step by step solution

01

Basic introduction

A chemical reaction includes reactants that react with each other and create products. The theoretical yield of a reaction is the maximum amount of product that can be produced from a certain amount of reactants. It can be calculated using stoichiometric relationships based on the number of moles of each reactant.
02

Explanation of limiting reactant

In any chemical reaction, the reactant that gets completely consumed first is called the limiting reactant. This is because no matter how much of the other reactants are present, once the limiting reactant is used up, the reaction cannot proceed any further and stops.
03

Relation Between Theoretical Yield and Limiting Reactant

Since the theoretical yield is the maximum amount of product that can be formed from the reactants, it is determined by the reactant that is completely used up first i.e. the limiting reactant. This is because further reaction (and thus further production of the product) is limited once the limiting reactant is consumed.
04

Conclusion

So, regardless of the amounts of other reactants, the quantity of product is constrained by the amount of limiting reactant. This is why the theoretical yield of a reaction is determined only by the amount of the limiting reactant.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Aspirin or acetyl salicylic acid is synthesized by reacting salicylic acid with aceticanhydride:$$\mathrm{C}_{7}\mathrm{H}_{6}\mathrm{O}_{3}+\mathrm{C}_{4} \mathrm{H}_{6} \mathrm{O}_{3} \quad \longrightarrow \mathrm{C}_{9} \mathrm{H}_{8}\mathrm{O}_{4}+\mathrm{C}_{2} \mathrm{H}_{4} \mathrm{O}_{2}$$ (a) How much salicylic acid is required to produce \(0.400 \mathrm{~g}\) of aspirin (about the content in a tablet), assuming acetic anhydride is present in excess? (b) Calculate the amount of salicylic acid needed if only 74.9 percent of salicylic acid is converted to aspirin. (c) In one experiment, \(9.26 \mathrm{~g}\) of salicylic acid is reacted with \(8.54 \mathrm{~g}\) of acetic anhydride. Calculate the theoretical yield of aspirin and the percent yield if only \(10.9 \mathrm{~g}\) of aspirin is produced.

Consider the reaction $$\mathrm{MnO}_{2}+4 \mathrm{HCl} \longrightarrow \mathrm{MnCl}_{2}+\mathrm{Cl}_{2}+2 \mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O} $$If 0.86 mole of \(\mathrm{MnO}_{2}\) and \(48.2 \mathrm{~g}\) of \(\mathrm{HCl}\) react, which reactant will be used up first? How many grams of \(\mathrm{Cl}_{2}\) will be produced?

Avogadro's number has sometimes been described as a conversion factor between atomic mass units and grams. Use the fluorine atom ( 19.00 amu) as an example to show the relation between the atomic mass unit and the gram.

Hemoglobin \(\left(\mathrm{C}_{2952} \mathrm{H}_{4664} \mathrm{~N}_{812} \mathrm{O}_{832} \mathrm{~S}_{8} \mathrm{Fe}_{4}\right)\) is the oxy- gen carrier in blood. (a) Calculate its molar mass. (b) An average adult has about \(5.0 \mathrm{~L}\) of blood. Every milliliter of blood has approximately \(5.0 \times 10^{9}\) erythrocytes, or red blood cells, and every red blood cell has about \(2.8 \times 10^{8}\) hemoglobin molecules. Calculate the mass of hemoglobin molecules in grams in an average adult.

The natural abundances of the two stable isotopes of hydrogen (hydrogen and deuterium) are \({ }_{1}^{1} \mathrm{H}\) : 99.985 percent and \({ }_{1}^{2} \mathrm{H}: 0.015\) percent. Assume that water exists as either \(\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}\) or \(\mathrm{D}_{2} \mathrm{O} .\) Calculate the number of \(\mathrm{D}_{2} \mathrm{O}\) molecules in exactly \(400 \mathrm{~mL}\) of water. (Density \(=1.00 \mathrm{~g} / \mathrm{mL} .)\)
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