If 1.0 mol of methyl salicylate were used in an experiment, what would the theoretical yield (in moles) of salicylic acid be?
If the equation you are using is
C8H8O3 + 2 NaOH + H2SO4 → C4H6O3 + Na2SO4 + CH3OH + H2O
then each mole of MS yields one mole of SA.
To calculate the theoretical yield of a chemical reaction, you need to know the balanced chemical equation and the stoichiometry of the reaction.
The balanced chemical equation for the reaction between methyl salicylate and hydrolysis is:
Methyl Salicylate + Water → Salicylic Acid + Methanol
From the balanced chemical equation, we can see that the stoichiometric ratio between methyl salicylate and salicylic acid is 1:1. This means that 1 mole of methyl salicylate will produce 1 mole of salicylic acid.
So, if 1.0 mole of methyl salicylate were used in the experiment, the theoretical yield of salicylic acid would also be 1.0 mole.