Which statement best describes the difference between actual yield and theoretical yield in a chemical reaction?

• A. Actual yield is always greater than theoretical yield because of measurement errors.
• B. Actual yield is the amount of product obtained from an experiment, while theoretical yield is the maximum amount of product predicted by stoichiometry.
• C. Actual yield and theoretical yield are always equal in a perfectly controlled reaction.
• D. Theoretical yield is the amount of product obtained from an experiment, while actual yield is calculated using stoichiometry.

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the definitions of theoretical yield and actual yield in a chemical reaction. Theoretical yield is the maximum amount of product that can be formed from the given amounts of reactants, calculated using stoichiometry based on the balanced chemical equation.
2. Step 2: Recognize that actual yield is the amount of product actually obtained from performing the experiment or reaction in the laboratory.
3. Step 3: Note that actual yield is often less than theoretical yield due to factors such as incomplete reactions, side reactions, losses during product recovery, or measurement errors.
4. Step 4: Compare the two yields: theoretical yield is a calculated maximum, while actual yield is the measured experimental result.
5. Step 5: Conclude that the best description is that actual yield is the experimentally obtained amount of product, whereas theoretical yield is the maximum predicted amount based on stoichiometric calculations.