How do you calculate percentage yield?

Percentage yield is calculated by dividing the actual yield by the theoretical yield, then multiplying by 100.

In more detail, the percentage yield is a measure of the efficiency of a chemical reaction. It compares the amount of product that was actually produced (the actual yield) to the amount that could have been produced under perfect conditions (the theoretical yield). The formula to calculate percentage yield is:

Percentage Yield = (Actual Yield / Theoretical Yield) x 100

The actual yield is the amount of product that you actually get from a reaction, and it is usually less than the theoretical yield due to losses in the process or the reaction not going to completion. The theoretical yield is the maximum amount of product that could be formed from the reactants. This is calculated based on the balanced chemical equation for the reaction, using stoichiometry.

For example, if you carried out a reaction and the theoretical yield was calculated to be 10 grams, but you only actually produced 8 grams of product, the percentage yield would be:

Percentage Yield = (8 / 10) x 100 = 80%

This means that the reaction was 80% efficient - 80% of the theoretical maximum amount of product was produced.

Remember, the percentage yield can never be more than 100% because you can't create more product than the theoretical maximum. If you calculate a percentage yield of more than 100%, there's probably been a mistake in your calculations or measurements.