If 1.87 g of acetic acid (CH3CO2H) reacts with 2.31 g of isopentyl alcohol (C5H12O) to give 2.64 g of isopentyl acetate (C7H14O2), what is the percent yield of the reaction?

more so worried about the process rather than the answr
Thanks so much for your time

1 Answer
Feb 19, 2018

Here's what I get.

Explanation:

We have the masses of two reactants, so we have a limiting reactant problem.

We know that we will need a balanced equation with masses, molar masses, and moles of the compounds involved.

1. Gather all the information in one place with molar masses above the formulas and everything else below them.

#M_r:color(white)(mmmm) 88.15 color(white)(mmmm)60.05color(white)(mmmmmll)130.18#
#color(white)(mmmmm) "C"_5"H"_11"OH" + "CH"_3"COOH" → "C"_5"H"_11"OCOCH"_3 + "H"_2"O"#
#"Mass/g:"color(white)(mml)2.31color(white)(mmmmll)1.87#

For easier typing, let's re-write the equation as

#"A + B → C + D"#

Calculate the moles of #"A"# and #"B"#.

2. Identify the limiting reactant

Calculate the moles of #"C"# you can get from each reactant.

Let's say that #"A"# is the limiting reactant because it gives fewer moles of #"C"#.

3. Calculate the theoretical yield of #"C"#

#"Theoretical yield = moles of C × molar mass of C"#

4. Calculate the percentage yield

#"% yield" = "actual yield"/"theoretical yield" × 100 % #