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Experiment 8
The drug with the greatest volume of use is the analgesic, aspirin. The pure
compound (acetylsalicylic acid) with some binder is made into tablets, weighing
slightly less than a third of a gram. When treated with basic solution the
acetylsalicylic acid hydrolyzes quickly to salicylic acid and acetate ions.
O
OH
OCCH3
2 OH-
COH
CO2
acetylsalicylic acid
CH3CO2-
H2O
salicylate
C7H5O3-
The salicylate ions will form an intensely colored complex with the ferric ion in
acidic solution.
3C7H5O3- +
Fe3+
(colorless) (faint yellow)
(C7H5O3)3Fe
(deep red wine)
The wavelength of maximum absorption for this complex is about 530 nm. Thus
visible spectroscopy can be used to measure the amount of aspirin present in the
tablet.
1.
2.
3.
Prepare the following solutions in volumetric flask, diluting to the mark with
water.
A 200 ppm aspirin standard
B 0.1 M Fe3+
C. Unknown
4.
Solution
blk
Std 1
Std 2
Std 3
Std 4
Std 5
Unk
Solution
blk
Std 1
Std 2
Std 3
Std 4
Std 5
Unk
Solution
blk
Std 1
Std 2
Std 3
Std 4
Std 5
Unk
C
0
0
0
0
0
0
2.00
the test tube in between each measurement. Only touch the top of the test tube
to avoid measurement errors that can occur due to fingerprints. Also, insert
the test tube into the spectrometer in the exact position each time, because
different parts of the glass can scatter light differently and give measurement
errors.
Calculations
1. Convert the % T data to absorbance data
2. Prepare a Beers law plot.
3. From the Least Squares regression, determine the concentration of aspirin in the
final diluted unknown solution.
4. Calculate the percentage (w/w) of aspirin in the tablet.
5. Calculate the error in the concentration obtained in question 3 (see the Guide to
statistics).
6. Propagate errors to estimate the error in the % aspirin calculated in question 4.