Assuming an efficiency of 46.80%, calculate the actual yield of magnesium nitrate formed from 147.9g of magnesium and excess copper(II) nitrate.

Mg + Cu(NO3)2 --> Mg(NO3)2 + Cu

I can't figure out how to even set this up much less solve it...

for each mole of Mg, you get a mole of magnesium nitrate.

So moles Mg=147.9/atomicmassMg

and you should get the same number of moles of Magnesium nitrate. Convert that to grams by multiplying by molmass of Mg(NO3)2

now for actual yield, multiply by .468

But where did the 147.9 come from?

Read the problem. It says you started with 147.9 g Mg.

To calculate the actual yield of magnesium nitrate, we need to first understand the concept of theoretical yield and percent yield.

Theoretical yield: It refers to the maximum amount of product that can be obtained from a reaction, assuming complete conversion of the limiting reactant. In this case, the limiting reactant is magnesium (Mg).

Percent yield: It is a measure of the efficiency of a chemical reaction and represents the ratio of the actual yield to the theoretical yield, expressed as a percentage.

In order to solve this problem, we need to follow these steps:

Step 1: Calculate the molar mass of magnesium (Mg) and magnesium nitrate (Mg(NO3)2).
The molar mass of Mg is 24.31 g/mol.
The molar mass of Mg(NO3)2 can be calculated by adding the molar mass of one magnesium atom (24.31 g/mol) with the molar mass of two nitrate ions (2 x (14.01 g/mol + 3 x 16.00 g/mol)).

Step 2: Convert the given mass of magnesium (147.9 g) to moles by dividing it by the molar mass of magnesium (24.31 g/mol). This will give us the number of moles of magnesium.

Step 3: Use the balanced chemical equation to determine the stoichiometric ratio between magnesium and magnesium nitrate. From the equation given:
1 mole of magnesium (Mg) reacts with 1 mole of magnesium nitrate (Mg(NO3)2).

Step 4: Since the stoichiometric ratio is 1:1, the number of moles of magnesium will also be the number of moles of magnesium nitrate formed.

Step 5: Convert the moles of magnesium nitrate to grams by multiplying by the molar mass of magnesium nitrate (obtained in Step 1). This will give us the theoretical yield of magnesium nitrate.

Step 6: Apply the formula for percent yield:
Percent Yield = (Actual Yield / Theoretical Yield) x 100

Step 7: Substitute the given efficiency (46.80%) into the percent yield formula and solve for the actual yield.

By following these steps, you can now set up and solve the problem to find the actual yield of magnesium nitrate formed.