Theoretical vs. Experimental

[306001327]

At what point do chemical equations and physical chemical reactions stop overlapping if at all? Are there ever instances where a chemical reaction doesn't work out as calculated when executed experimentally?

[Rithwik Narendra 2H]

Unless performed in a vacuum, chemical reactions often do not work out as calculated experimentally. This is due to a variety of factors ranging from impure substances, experimental error on the part of the scientist, measurement error, and unwanted reactions with other substances (i.e. oxygen). Of course, there are many more examples than the ones I have listed.

However, for the purposes of this class, we operate on the assumption that there is no error. That is, we generally calculate the theoretical yield unless told otherwise in the problem description.