hk213 Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 Ok. So for my lab i used a given quantity of iron to react with excess copper(II) sulfate,which produces COPPER AND IRON SULFATE. For this lab, we are supposed to determine the percentage yield of copper and i got slightly over the theoretical yield Theoretical: 1.7g Cu Actual : 1.72g Cu How is this possible, i mean it isn't possible to produce more than the amount of reactants. It would make sense if the actual yield was less than the theoretical yield............. So i really need an explanation for this. And for this lab, what kind of things would be considered as limitations&errors??? (I used the decanting process to get the copper and dried it off for a day.) Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilia Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 This implies systematic errors. Since I don't know your exact method, I can't suggest any limitations and I don't think I'm allowed to either. Go through your method and think carefully about what systematic errors that would give a too high experimental value. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedron123 Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 As Tilia said, the systematic errors that your method has account for the difference between the theoretical and the actual yield. You can also calculate the total uncertainties for the experiment as you are likely to have used inaccurate instruments. (or not but they still affect your experimental result). Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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