Which of the following best describes how to determine the theoretical yield in a chemical reaction?

• A. Measure the actual amount of product obtained from the experiment.
• B. Divide the mass of the reactants by the molar mass of the product.
• C. Subtract the mass of the limiting reactant from the mass of the excess reactant.
• D. Calculate the amount of product formed based on the limiting reactant using stoichiometry.

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that the theoretical yield is the maximum amount of product that can be formed from the given reactants, assuming complete reaction with no losses.
2. Identify the limiting reactant, which is the reactant that will be completely consumed first and thus limits the amount of product formed.
3. Use the balanced chemical equation to determine the mole ratio between the limiting reactant and the desired product.
4. Convert the amount of the limiting reactant (usually given in grams) to moles by dividing by its molar mass: \(\text{moles of limiting reactant} = \frac{\text{mass of limiting reactant}}{\text{molar mass of limiting reactant}}\).
5. Apply stoichiometry using the mole ratio from the balanced equation to calculate the moles of product formed, then convert this to mass by multiplying by the molar mass of the product: \(\text{mass of product} = \text{moles of product} \times \text{molar mass of product}\).