Physical changes happen when you do/mix something that can be reversed. Best example is ripping a paper, you can just tape it back together so it is just an observable thing that changes, which is a physical change. Chemical changes happen when you mix things and they make a new substance and can’t be reversed. The best example of this is the Statue of Liberty, which changed in color due to the chemical change between the oxygen and copper, which created a new substance (rust) which made it green instead of copper. Sorry for the long answer but hope this helps!
Yes. Percent yield shows how efficient one's method is. If his isolated caffeine proved to be at only 1.5%, compared to least 50% as in many of the previous experiments, the student should be very concerned as it shows that something caused the yield to sharply drop.
