So I did an experiment at school in which we had to form 2.00 grams of precipitate by mixing 2 hydrated compounds. So for the products, obviously one of it is water, and the other 2 products are compounds, one of which, is insoluble. So when I measured the amount of precipitate it was less than 2.00 grams, I had gotten a percent yield of about 75% or 76%, so I need to address 2 sources of error, 1) why was the percent yield lower, and 2) what would cause for the percent yield to be higher than 100%?

Question

So I did an experiment at school in which we had to form 2.00 grams of precipitate by mixing 2 hydrated compounds. So for the products, obviously one of it is water, and the other 2 products are compounds, one of which, is insoluble. So when I measured the amount of precipitate it was less than 2.00 grams, I had gotten a percent yield of about 75% or 76%, so I need to address 2 sources of error, 1) why was the percent yield lower, and 2) what would cause for the percent yield  to be higher than 100%?

So since my percent yield is lower than 100%, that means I added to much water to it? and if my percent yield was too high that would mean I used too much precipitate?

Please tell me if I am right, or correct me if I am wrong, thanks for your help :)

DrBob222 · Answer

There isn't enough information here for me to know what you've done except is very general terms. The usual reason in experiments of this type where yield is greater than 100% the problem is insufficient drying.
If you can provide more details perhaps I can help further.

K · Answer

We have to mixed 2 hydrated compounds each in a separate beaker filled with water, and then dump one of the solutions into the other and mix that, then filter the 1 solution out, so that the precipitate is caught in a filter paper, and the water is caught in an erlynmeyer flask.

The 2 compounds mixed together were magnesium sulfate heptahydrate and sodium carbonate decahydrate, and the products are water sodium sulfate and magnesium carbonate (the precipitate)