Calculate the theoretical yield of aspirin if you started with 1.75 g of salicylic acid.

Question

Synthesis of Aspirin Pre-Lab Question

Answer 1

As a pre-lab question, I'm assuming you know or are given the molecular formulas for salicylic acid and aspirin

salicylic acid ----------> aspirin

BUT the number of carbons in salicylic acid doesn't equal the number of carbons in aspirin

so we cannot assume a 1:1 ratio .....

I'm going to make another assumption, the synthesis calls for acetic anhydride as the other reactant

and acetic acid as the other product

NOW, we can assume a 1:1:1:1 ratio of salicylic acid to acetic anhydride to aspirin to acetic acid

(1) calculate the molar masses of salicylic acid and aspirin

(2) determine the number of moles of salicylic acid in 1.75 grams os salicylic acid using the calculated molar mass

(3) with a 1:1 ratio of salicylic acid to aspirin ..... that's the same number of moles of aspirin

(4) determine the grams of aspirin using calculated molar mass of aspirin

Provide comment to continue discussion or need clarification or just a quick check.