Lab 9

SEPARATING MEDICAL COMPONENTS

AP Chemistry
March 5, 2018

Anthony Hower-
Prelab 4, Materials and Procedure,
Argumentation and Documentation,
Formatting and Organization

Julia Kim-
Prelab 1-3, Abstract, Post-lab,
Worksheet

Stan Kim-
Materials, Data Collection and
Computation, Conclusion

Abstract
The purpose of this lab was to use various reactions and techniques to calculate the
composition of a mixture. A mixture of Acetylsalicylic Acid, Acetaminophen, and sucrose
with an unknown ratio was given. By adding chemicals that dissolved only certain
component of the mixture and using separation techniques, we were able to separate out
and dry the three components of the mixture into powder forms. Through gravimetric
analysis, we were able to calculate the ratio of the three components in the mixture. The
ratio of Acetylsalicylic Acid, Acetaminophen, and sucrose that we calculated is 4.3%, 18.0%,
75% respectively, with 97.3% of percent yield.
Table of Contents
Abstract .....................................................................................................................................0
Pre-Lab ...................................................................................................................................... 1
Step 1. ................................................................................................................................. 1
Step 2.................................................................................................................................. 2
Step 3. ................................................................................................................................. 2
Step 4. ................................................................................................................................ 3
Materials and Procedure ........................................................................................................... 3
Materials: ........................................................................................................................... 3
Procedure: ..........................................................................................................................4
Data Collection and Computation ...........................................................................................4
Argumentation and Documentation........................................................................................6
Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 7
Post-Lab..................................................................................................................................... 7

Pre-Lab
Step 1.
Molecular Formula Molecular Mass Potential Hazards

Acetylsalicylic C9H8O4 180.15g/mol Hazardous in case of

Acid skin contact, eye
contact, ingestion, or
inhalation. May be toxic
to blood, lungs, mucous
membranes.

Acetaminophen C8H9NO2 151.17g/mol Slightly hazardous in

case of skin contact, eye
contact, ingestion, or
inhalation.

Sucrose C12H22O11 342.3 g/mol Slightly hazardous in

case of skin contact, eye

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 contact, ingestion, or
inhalation.

Ethyl Acetate C4-H8-O2 88.11 g/mol Hazardous in case of

ingestion or inhalation.
Slightly hazardous in
case of skin contact or
eye contact. May be
toxic to blood, kidneys,
liver, central nervous
system.

Sodium Na2-C-O3 105.99 g/mol Hazardous in case of

Carbonate skin contact, eye
contact, ingestion, or
inhalation. May be toxic
to upper respiratory
tract, skin, eyes.

1. What does each component have in common?

All substances used in this lab are organic, meaning that Carbon is their building block.

2. What are their differences?

The ratio of the elements in each substance is different, and Acetaminophen has N in it and
Sodium Carbonate has Na, while the other molecules consist of C, H, and O.

3. What safety practices must be used when working with these substances?

We must have safety goggles on, rinse with water or eyewash if any chemical comes in
contact with our skin or eyes, respectively, and waft at the beaker to smell instead of
smelling a chemical directly.

Step 2.
1. Would you be able to separate the components using two liquids in the same
container?

Yes, the procedure plan that our group proposed uses two liquids and one container
excluding the beakers that will contain the components that are separated out.

Step 3.
1. Is there a way to remove water from a liquid solvent?

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Yes, the addition of an anhydrous reagent will remove water from the organic solution.

Step 4.
1. A student was given a 5.00 gram sample of a mixture containing three substances, A,
B, and C. Using the physical and chemical properties of each component, the student
recovered 2.51 grams of substance A, 1.36 grams of substance B, and 0.98 grams of
substance C. Calculate the percent composition of A, B, and C. Calculate the percent
recovery.

A: 52% composition, 96.5% recovery B: 28% composition, 97.1%recovery C: 20%

composition, 98% recovery

Materials and Procedure

Materials:
For our materials, we used 3g of a mixture of acetylsalicylic acid, acetaminophen, and
sucrose, 50mL of ethyl acetate, 50mL of 10% sodium hydrogen carbonate, 15 mL of 6M
hydrochloric acid, 5g of anhydrous magnesium sulfate, 100mL glass beakers, 125mL
Erlenmeyer flasks, pH paper, separatory funnels, Buchner funnels, a glass funnel, side arm
flasks, a vacuum filter apparatus, circular filter paper, graduated cylinders, digital
balances, glass stirring rods, watch glasses, a hot plate, pipettes, and a drying oven.

Figure 1: Separatory Funnel Figure 2: Vacuum Filtration Apparatus

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Procedure:
First, we measured out 3.00g of the mixture in question and dissolved it in 50mL of ethyl
acetate (all liquid measurements were taken using a clean graduated cylinder). This
allowed for the sucrose powder to remain undissolved while the other two chemicals were
in solution. We filtered out the sucrose with our filtering apparatus (which consisted of a
filter paper in a Buchner funnel with a stopper over an Erlenmeyer flask with a side hole to
connect to the vacuum pump) and left it to dry on its filter paper on a watch glass in the
oven so we could measure it later. We did use a pipette with ethyl acetate to rinse out our
beaker to minimize transfer error. After that, we poured the filtered solution out of the
vacuum apparatus, into a beaker, and added 50mL of 10% sodium hydrogen bicarbonate
solution to our ethyl acetate solution. This separated the two remaining chemicals in
question by having the acetylsalicylic acid be dissolved in the sodium hydrogen
bicarbonate, leaving the acetaminophen in the ethyl acetate. From there, we poured our
mixture (using a funnel) into the separatory funnel. We shook the funnel around,
inverting it and opening the knob to let off pressure. Once the fluids settled, the ethyl
acetate solution floated above the aqueous one, and we very carefully opened the bottom
to drain our all of the sodium hydrogen bicarbonate solution out into a beaker, being very
careful to not leave any in the funnel nor let out any ethyl acetate. Then, we put another
beaker under the funnel and let out the rest of the ethyl acetate. After that, we used a
pipette to drop in 6M HCl until the sodium hydrogen bicarbonate’s solution reached a pH
of about 2, thus precipitating out all of the acetylsalicylic acid, which we used another
filtering apparatus to filter and then let dry and measure. Magnesium sulfate was added to
the ethyl acetate solution until it stopped clumping in order to “dry” the solution. We then
filtered out the magnesium sulfate and collected the remaining solution and put it in the
oven to dry, leaving behind only the acetaminophen which we could then measure.

Data Collection and Computation

Mass (g) Aspirin Acetaminophen Sucrose

(Acetylsalicylate Acid)

Mass after 0.72g 89.90g 2.55g

drying in the
oven

Filter paper 0.3g *2 X 0.3g

Beaker X 87.36 X

Final Mass 0.12g 0.54g 2.25g

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Figure 3: Data Table

1. Calculate the percent by mass of each component by dividing the sum of the
masses of all recovered components by the mass of the Quick Ache Relief that you
started with multiplied by 100

Mass of the Quick Ache Relief

Mass of Aspirin (Acetylsalicylate Acid) after drying: 0.12g

Mass of Sucrose after drying: 2.57g

Mass of Acetaminophen after drying: 0.54g

Mass of overall precipitates: Mass of Aspirin (Acetylsalicylate Acid) + Mass of Aspirin +

Mass of Acetaminophen

= (0.12 + 2.57 + 0.54) g

= 3.23g

Percent composition of precipitates

% composition of Aspirin (Acetylsalicylate Acid): Mass of Aspirin / Mass of Recovered
Quick Ache Relief

= 0.13 g / 3.00 g * 100%

= 4.3%

% composition of Acetaminophen: Mass of Acetaminophen / Mass of Recovered Quick

Ache Relief

=0.54 g /3.00 g * 100%

= 18.0%

% composition of Sucrose: Mass of Sucrose / Mass of Recovered Quick Ache Relief

= 2.25g /3.00 g * 100%

= 75%

2. Calculate the percent recovery of Quick Ache Relief based on the total mass of the
components recovery multiplied by 100%

% Recovery of Quick Ache Relief = Mass of Components recovered / Mass of Quick Ache
Relief

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` =2.92 g / 3.00 g * 100%

= 97.3 %

Argumentation and Documentation

1. Clearly state the goal(s) of the experiment

The goal of the experiment was to separate the components out of quick ache relief tablets
and measure the amounts of each components to support a hypothesis of whether the pills
were breaking from a lack of sucrose or a contamination from another product.

2. Discuss the outcome of the experiment and whether or not the goal was achieved

Our outcome was that the quick ache tablet was contaminated with acetylsalicylic acid, and
because we identified the amount of sucrose and what was contaminating the sucrose-
acetaminophen mixture, our goal was reached.

3. Provide experimental evidence that supports your conclusion

According to our data, only , 18.0%% of the pill was acetaminophen when they claimed it
was about 80-90%, and the pill had 75% sucrose and 4.3% contamination from
acetylsalicylic acid, supporting our evidence of why the pills did not stick.

4. Explain any potential sources of error

Besides normal transfer error, we had several potential causes of error. Some of the ethyl
acetate solution with everything in it was spilled on one of our hands, potentially losing
some of all the powders, probably not evenly because of the sucrose not being in solution, a
small amount of the dried sucrose came off the filter paper when we were moving it, making
our measured data slightly lowered, our separatory funnel leaked when we inverted it, losing
some of the acetylsalicylic acid in solution, and for some reason our sucrose measured 17.6g,
which is impossible starting from 3g, so we had to estimate our measured sucrose indirectly.

5. Suggest methods for additional analysis

Ways that we could have analyzed further consist of trying the experiment multiple times,
comparing it to known concentrations, and trying other methods of separation.

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Conclusion
The purpose of this lab was to calculate the % composition of sucrose in Quick Ache Relief
to see if the breaking of the pills was the result of not enough of sucrose involved or
because of a contaminant. From the data collection and calculation, we figured out the %
composition of sucrose in the Quick ache relief was 75%, which is much more than the %
composition given by the quick ache relief manufacturer, which is 12%~18%. In
conclusion, the reason for broken pills is not the result of insufficient amount of sucrose
involved, but because of the 4.3% contamination of acetylsalicylic acid.

Post-Lab
When ethyl acetate was added to the mixture, acetylsalicylic acid and acetaminophen
dissolved because they are nonpolar and have a relatively weak IMF while sucrose did not
dissolve because the sucrose molecules were bonded stronger to each other due to its
polarity.

When sodium hydrogen carbonate was added to the solution, the acetylsalicylic acid and
sodium carbonate react to form a salt, CO¬2 gas, and water to form an aqueous solution.
Acetaminophen stays dissolved in the ethyl acetate. Because water is denser than ethyl
acetate, the aqueous solution sinks below ethyl acetate and acetaminophen.

When hydrochloric acid is added to the aqueous solution, the H+ are dissociated,
lowering the pH of the solution. This drives the reaction to the left, precipitating out the
acetylsalicylic acid.

When magnesium sulfate, also referred to as a drying agent, is added to the solution
containing acetaminophen, it bonds with the water molecules in the solution.

The addition of ethyl acetate was necessary in separating out the sucrose, the only
component that wasn’t soluble. The addition of sodium hydrogen carbonate was useful in
separating the acetylsalicylic acid and acetaminophen using their solubility properties.
The hydrochloric acid separated the acetylsalicylic acid out of the solution, and the
magnesium sulfate separated the acetaminophen out. All steps were necessary in
obtaining the components of the mixture in a powder form.

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