Percent Yield - Formula, Definition, Examples, Applications - Cuemath

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Percent Yield

Percent yield refers to the percent ratio of actual yield to the theoretical yield. In chemistry, yield is a measure of the quantity of moles of a product formed in relation to the reactant consumed, obtained in a chemical reaction, usually expressed as a percentage. The amount of product actually made compared with the maximum calculated yield is called the percentage yield. Let us understand the percent yield formula using solved examples.

1.	What is Percent Yield?
2.	Percent Yield Example
3.	Percent Yield Formula
4.	FAQs Percent Yield

What is Percent Yield?

In chemistry, percent yield is the percent ratio of the weight of the product obtained to the theoretical yield. We calculate the percent yield by dividing the experimental yield by the theoretical yield and multiplying the result by 100 to express the final answer in %. Generally, the value of percent yield is lower than 100%, since the actual yield obtained after the reaction is often less than the theoretical value. This can be because of an incomplete reaction.

Percent yield can also be greater than 100%, meaning that more sample was recovered from the reaction than the initially predicted yield. Percent yield is always positive.

Percentage Yield Example

Let us see the decomposition reaction of magnesium oxide to understand the concept of percent yield better.

MgCO\(_3\) → MgO + CO\(_2\)

This means for 1 mole of reactant[MgCO\(_3\)], we will obtain 1 mole of product[MgO], i.e, the reactant and the product have a 1:1 mole ratio. When given the amount of reactant, we can find the theoretical yield by comparing the mole ratio. The ratio of actual yield given to this theoretical yield gives the percentage yield.