If a student uses 2.617 g of salicylic acid, how many grams of aspirin should she be able to produce

Question

If a student uses 2.617 g of salicylic acid, how many grams of aspirin should she be able to produce

Answer 1

SA = salicylic acid

ASA = aspirin

The balanced equation is SA + acetic anhydride ==> ASA + acetic acid

Assuming that acetic anhydride is present in excess, the amount of aspirin (ASA) produced will depend only on the amount of SA used:

2.617 g SA x 1 mole SA/138.12 g = 0.01895 moles SA used

moles aspirin produced = 0.01895 moles SA x 1 mole aspirin/mole SA = 0.01895 moles aspirin

grams aspirin = 0.01895 moles aspirin x 180.16 g/mole = 3.414 g aspirin (to 4 significant figures)