A reaction having a 90 percent yield may be considered a successful experiment. However, in the synthesis of complex molecules such as chlorophyll and many anticancer drugs, a chemist often has to carry out multiple-step synthesis. What is the overall percent yield for such a synthesis, assuming it is a 30 -step reaction with a 90 percent yield at each step?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The overall yield percentage for a 30-step reaction with a 90 percent yield at each step is approximately 4.24 percent

Step by step solution

01

Understand the Problem

The problem is asking for the overall yield of a 30 step reaction, where each step has a 90 percent success rate. With multistep reactions, the yield from one step is used as the starting material for the next, so understanding the decrease in yield at each stage is crucial to solving the problem.
02

Determine the Yield at Each Step

The yield at each step is given as 90 percent, or 0.90 when expressed as a decimal. This means that 90 percent of the material from one step is successfully used in the next step.
03

Calculate the Overall Yield

To calculate the overall yield, multiply the yield of each step. Since there are 30 steps and the yield at each step is 0.90, the overall yield is \(0.90^{30}\).
04

Convert to Percentage

To convert the decimal to a percentage, multiply the result by 100. Therefore, the overall yield percentage is \(0.90^{30} \times 100\).

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