If 1.43 g of 4-ehoxyaniline and an excess of the acylating agent were used to prepare phencetin, what is the theoretical yield of product?
1. Write and balance the equation.
2. Convert 1.43 g starting material to mols. mols = grams/molar mass
3. Using the coefficients in the balanced equation, convert mols starting material to mols product. Many organic reactions are 1:1 but this one may not be.
4. Convert mols product to grams. g = mols x molar mass. This is the theoretical yield in grams. Step 3 gives the theoretical yield in mols.