Final answer:
To calculate the amount of medicinal ether produced from 50.0 g of ethyl alcohol with an 85% yield, first determine the moles of ethanol, apply the stoichiometry from the balanced equation, calculate the theoretical yield, and then apply the percent yield. This will result in 34.17 grams of ether.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subject of this question is Chemistry, specifically stoichiometry and percent yield. The process to determine the mass of medicinal ether produced involves several steps. First, you must calculate the molar mass of ethyl alcohol (C₂H₆O) and then convert the given mass of ethyl alcohol into moles.
Using the balanced chemical equation 2C₂H₅OH → (C₂H₅)₂O, we identify the mole ratio between ethyl alcohol and ether to find out the theoretical yield of ether. Next, we apply the percent yield to calculate the actual yield, which is 85% in this case.
Here, the molar mass of ethyl alcohol (C₂H₆O) is 46.07 g/mol. Hence, with 50.0 g of ethyl alcohol, you get:
Number of moles of ethyl alcohol = 50.0 g / 46.07 g/mol ≈ 1.085 moles
Using the balanced equation, the mole ratio of ethyl alcohol to ether is 2:1. Therefore:
Theoretical moles of ether = 1.085 moles / 2 ≈ 0.5425 moles
The molar mass of ether (C₄H₁0O) is 74.12 g/mol. Next, we calculate the theoretical mass of ether:
Theoretical mass of ether = 0.5425 moles * 74.12 g/mol ≈ 40.20 g
Applying the percent yield:
Actual yield of ether = 40.20 g * 85% = 34.17 g
Therefore, you would produce 34.17 grams of ether with 50.0 grams of ethyl alcohol at an 85% yield.