A student performed the nitration of Benzoic Acid. She/he started with 7.2 g of starting material and obtained 4.8 g of product. Assuming Benzoic Acid is the limiting reagent; calculate the theoretical and percent yields. Show the equation and all steps of your calculations.
To calculate the theoretical and percent yields for the nitration of Benzoic Acid, we'll need to follow a series of steps.
Step 1: Write the balanced chemical equation for the reaction.
The reaction for nitration of Benzoic Acid can be represented by the following balanced equation:
C6H5COOH + HNO3 → C6H4(NO2)COOH + H2O
Step 2: Calculate the molar mass of Benzoic Acid.
C6H5COOH:
Carbon (C) = 6 × 12.01 g/mol = 72.06 g/mol
Hydrogen (H) = 5 × 1.01 g/mol = 5.05 g/mol
Oxygen (O) = 2 × 16.00 g/mol = 32.00 g/mol
Total molar mass of Benzoic Acid = 72.06 g/mol + 5.05 g/mol + 32.00 g/mol = 109.11 g/mol
Step 3: Convert the given mass of Benzoic Acid to moles.
Given mass of Benzoic Acid = 7.2 g
Moles of Benzoic Acid = Given mass / molar mass
Moles of Benzoic Acid = 7.2 g / 109.11 g/mol = 0.066 moles (approximately)
Step 4: Determine the molar ratio between Benzoic Acid and the product, C6H4(NO2)COOH, from the balanced equation.
From the balanced equation, the molar ratio is 1:1.
This means that 1 mole of Benzoic Acid reacts to produce 1 mole of C6H4(NO2)COOH.
Step 5: Calculate the theoretical yield of the product, C6H4(NO2)COOH, in grams.
Theoretical yield = Moles of Benzoic Acid × Molar mass of C6H4(NO2)COOH
The molar mass of C6H4(NO2)COOH can be calculated using the same logic as Step 2.
Molar mass of C6H4(NO2)COOH = (6 × 12.01 g/mol) + (4 × 14.01 g/mol) + (2 × 16.00 g/mol) + (2 × 14.01 g/mol) + (2 × 16.00 g/mol) = 167.11 g/mol
Theoretical yield = 0.066 moles × 167.11 g/mol = 11.01 g (approximately)
Step 6: Calculate the percent yield.
Percent Yield = (Actual yield / Theoretical yield) × 100
Given actual yield = 4.8 g
Percent Yield = (4.8 g / 11.01 g) × 100 = 43.6% (approximately)
Therefore, the theoretical yield of the product is 11.01 g and the percent yield is 43.6%.