Question 3 If 743 grams of salicylic acid (C7H6O3) reacts with 621 grams of acetic anhydride (C4H6O3), what is the maximum amount of aspirin (C9H8O4) product that can be produced?

Question

Question 3 If 743 grams of salicylic acid (C7H6O3) reacts with 621 grams of acetic anhydride (C4H6O3), what is the maximum amount of aspirin (C9H8O4) product that can be produced?

Answer 1

You have to figure out the reaction. Acetic acid is produced as well (CH₃COOH) which makes the stoichiometric coefficients all ones (The equation is balanced)

The easiest way to calculate this is brute force:

Start with the amount of reactant 1 and find out how much aspirin is formed.

Start with the amount of reactant 2 and find out how much aspirin is formed

Whichever one is the LR will have the lower amount of product formed and that is your answer.

The calculations are standard stoichiometric calculations:

g of i (moles/g of i) (moles of j/moles of i) (g/moles j) = g of j

First term is dividing by molar mass, 2nd term is 1:1 and 3rd term is multiplying by molar mass.