Chm457 Fundamental Organic Chemistryexp 1
Chm457 Fundamental Organic Chemistryexp 1
Chm457 Fundamental Organic Chemistryexp 1
In this experiment, sulfuric acid act as a catalyst that speeds up the reaction and also act as a
dehydrating agent forcing equilibrium to the right forming greater yield of ester.
ii. Show the step-by-step of reactions mechanism on the formation of acetylsalicylic acid
upon reacting salicylic acid with acetic anhydride in acidic condition.
iii. Calculate the actual yield of product from the given information:
Ferric chloride is used to determine the presence of phenols in a sample. This is because a
highly coloured complex will form when phenols react with ferric chloride. Due to presence
of phenols in salicylic acid, a dark blue or purple colour will form. While, when aspirin is
tested with ferric acid, no colour will form because it is not a phenol. Therefore, the final
product can be tested with ferric acid to detect any presence of salicylic acid in the sample.
Conclusion
In conclusion, acetylsalicylic acid was synthesized from salicylic acid and acetic anhydride.
The sulphuric acid in this experiment was used as a catalyst and dehydrating agent to aid the
synthetization of acetylsalicylic acid. From the results obtained, the experimental mass of the
product is 2.667 g while the actual mass is 2.3 g. The isolated product yield is calculated to
be 86%. The final product was tested with ferric acid to detect any presence of salicylic acid.
If there is no colour changes, it is a negative result due to absence of salicylic acid. While, if
it forms highly coloured complex, it is a positive result.
References
Questions
Most aspirin tablets contain five grains of acetylsalicylic acid. How many milligrams is this?
= 323.995 milligrams