Question

What is theoretical yield?
(A) The maximum amount of product that can be made from the amount of reactants
(B) The measured amount of reaction in a reaction
(C) The minimum amount of product that can be made from the amount of reactants
(D) The maximum amount of reactant that can be made from the amount of product
(E) The measured amount of product from a reaction

Answer 1

Hint: Understand the general meaning of the term 'yield'. With that you can determine what theoretical yield stands for in a chemical reaction. The option (s) which are closest to the meaning of theoretical yield will be the correct answer.

Complete Solution :
- The meaning of yield is to produce or give a product at the end of a process or reaction.
- Theoretical yield in specific refers to the quantity of a product obtained from the complete conversion of the concentration of limiting reactant in a given chemical reaction.
- On the other hand, actual yield is the amount of product or products that are actually produced in a chemical reaction. It is commonly observed that actual yield is lesser than theoretical yield.
- From the above statements, we can conclude that theoretical yield is the maximum amount of product that can be made from the amount of reactants.
So, the correct answer is “Option A”.

Note: It is important to know that actual yield is lesser than theoretical yield when one or more products are gases. Gases cannot be contained in a chemical reaction as they are released into the air. Along with that, the surrounding conditions are not always the same as the one mentioned while calculating theoretical yield and will thus produce variation in the two types of yields.