CHEM 1102: General Chemistry

Problem set no. 3

1. Aspirin or acetyl salicylic acid is synthesized by reacting salicylic acid with acetic anhydride:

C7H6O3 + C4H6O3  C9H8O4 + C2H4O2

salicylic acid acetic anhydride aspirin acetic acid

(a) How much salicylic acid is required to produce 0.400 g of aspirin (about the content in a
tablet), assuming acetic anhydride is present in excess?
(b) Calculate the amount of salicylic acid needed if only 74.9 percent of salicylic acid is
converted to aspirin.
(c) In one experiment, 9.26 g of salicylic acid is reacted with 8.54 g of acetic anhydride.
Calculate the theoretical yield of aspirin and the percent yield if only 10.9 g of aspirin is
produced.

2. Monosodium glutamate (MSG), a food-fl avor enhancer, has been blamed for “Chinese
restaurant syndrome,” the symptoms of which are headaches and chest pains. MSG has the
following composition by mass: 35.51 percent C, 4.77 percent H, 37.85 percent O, 8.29 percent
N, and 13.60 percent Na. What is its molecular formula if its molar mass is about 169 g?

3. Balance the following equations:

a.) NH4NO2  N2 + H2O
b.) HCl + CaCO3  CaCl2 + H2O + CO2
c.) CH4 + Br2  CBr4 + HBr

“Dedicate your hearts”