Science glossary film: Percentage yield

A measurement of the efficiency of a chemical reaction, calculated by dividing the actual amount of product by the theoretical maximum amount. If a reaction has a theoretical yield of 65 grams and an actual yield of 26 grams, the percentage yield is 40 percent. We calculate the percentage yield by dividing the actual yield by the theoretical yield, so in this example the percentage yield is 40 percent. In this factory, which makes biofuel from sugarcane, a high percentage yield is important. A higher percentage yield means more fuel can be produced from the available sugarcane. The theoretical yield of biofuel is 560 litres of ethanol from each tonne of sucrose. But the actual yield is usually around 484 litres per tonne of sucrose, which is a percentage yield of 86 percent.

If a reaction has a theoretical yield of 65 grams and an actual yield of 26 grams, the percentage yield is 40 percent. This is calculated by dividing the actual yield by the theoretical yield, and then multiplying by 100. In this factory, which makes biofuel from sugarcane, a high percentage yield is important. A higher percentage yield means more fuel can be produced from the available sugarcane. The theoretical yield of biofuel is 560 litres of ethanol from each ton of sucrose. But the actual yield is usually around 484 litres per tonne of sucrose, which is a percentage yield of 86 percent.