Conclusions/Discussion

In the experiment completed on May 5, 2011, aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) was created with the synthesis of salicylic acid and acetic acid anhydride. The two acids were weighed to the correct amount (in grams), then mixed together in an Erlenmeyer flask. The solution was then placed in a hot water bath then set to cool. A cold beaker of water was added to the mixture in order to start the crystallization process. The mixture was then placed in an ice bath. After the ice bath, the solution in the flask was filter into another beaker using a funnel and filter paper. Waste filtered into the beaker while the acetylsalicylic acid was left at the top. These crystals were then left to dry, and then weighed for final calculations. Even before calculations, the fact the there was a yield of aspirin in the filter paper meant that I was able to create aspirin successfully. Upon further calculations, the result of approximately 83% ASA means that not only was aspirin created, but a large amount of aspirin was created compared to the amount of waste (acetic acid). According to my hypothesis, I predicted that I would be able to produce aspirin by mixing salicylic acid and acetic acid anhydride, and also by making the minimum amount of errors during the experiment. After taking every precaution possible during the process of making aspirin, I hereby conclude that my hypothesis is accepted and aspirin was produced successfully, with very limited sources of error. However, with the few sources of errors that I could think of, I have also come up with various improvements that could make my experiment better. First off, I would make sure that for the step in which ice is needed to begin crystallization, I would leave the ice until I was ready to actually use it. This way, the ice would not melt as fast and as it did during this experiment, and perhaps there would be a greater amount of aspirin crystals produced. I would also make sure that any instrument or material that has come into contact with ingredients used in the mixture should be cleaned of residue immediately. The residue must be washed into the solution so that there will be the most accurate amounts of ASA available to us in the end. For mechanical errors, I would make sure that the scale I will be using during the experiment is properly calibrated before I begin any steps. I could do this by measuring the weight of an object of which the mass is already known, such as a 1kg block or a 1g block. If the scale does not read the objects accurately I can then subtract the added or subtracted amount and take it away from the mass the scale reads. For the dehydration of the ASA crystals, the only thing that can be improved is to wait longer before weighing it on a scale. It is not easy to tell whether or not the product is completely dry, but it is safer to leave it alone for a slightly longer amount of time just in case. It is definitely better safer rather than sorry. As for calculations, if there is a mistake in any one of the steps, I will be sure to fix it and make sure that if I must ever do those sorts of calculations again I will do them slowly and carefully. If they are done carefully, there is more of a chance of avoiding these mistakes. Humans are just humans, and the best are able to make mistakes too.

Making aspirin is an extremely important experiment, not only for the people who have headaches and pains, but also for a chemistry student. Of course, it is important to know about the one medication that has been used for thousands of years from things like neck pains to influenza. Though aspirin is not able to cure any of these ailments, it helps make them more bearable and allows people to do what they want to do: to live life without worrying about being in pain or feeling sick. If everyone can do this experiment, it might even be useful for people who want to make their own brand of aspirin in the future, creating businesses and companies, which result in jobs and a better economy. People can improve on the aspirin we have today, and who knows, someone might invent aspirin that has no side-effects. It is an almost impossible chance, but anything can happen. In my point of view, making ASA helps any chemistry student (like myself) because it shows us the practical side of chemical reactions, and how one substance can result from putting two substances together. Not only does it show us the ‘fun’ mixing side of chemistry, but it also helps us to practise the calculations, which are equally important. Without calculations, you wouldn’t really know anything about the product you’ve created. You would have certain data such as mass, volume, etc., but you would not know anything about what the limiting reagent is in a balanced chemical equation, or the number of moles. Calculations make it easier to figure things out without having to disturb the product and doing unnecessary amounts of data collection. In the future, I would like to try not only making aspirin, but possibly attempting to make it into tablet form. It is not really a chemistry-like process from what I have researched, however, it would be interesting to see if machines are really needed to produce such tablets. I would also like to try synthesizing other medications such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen to see how these medications differ in the way they are made. We know about all these different types of medications and what they do, but hardly any of us know how they are made. If we know how some of these medications are produced, we might be able to determine which ones are safer than others! Of course, the next time I do an experiment like this, I would like to make sure that I do it alone. Working with a partner is very helpful and cuts the amount of time needed to complete the experiment by a lot, but when you have a partner, you do not always know what they are doing. If the partner makes any mistakes then you would not know about it, at least until the end. Also, sometimes having a partner takes away the opportunity for you to be able to kinetically learn the steps of the experiment, and so, you end up not knowing what is going on and how to explain it in lab reports. I will also make sure to take proper notes of everything I observe during the experiment because, as I did not do this for making aspirin, it will be easier to re-call rather than having to remember things that happened in an experiment a week prior to writing a lab-report. Of course, the experiment was limited to certain materials and a certain environment. It was not a very big room and sometimes some of the materials needed took a long time to find. There was also a certain time limit for the completion of the experiment, but no matter what the limitations of the experiment were, I was able to complete the experiment with the help of my partner and teacher. There are not any more experiments that I would like to try to improve my results. I think the most I would do in the same experiment would be to try and make sure that none of the mistakes I made during this trial are repeated in the next. It would be unlikely to get a 100% percentage yield, but I could always try to get as close as possible. Practise makes perfect, and this saying applies to the making of aspirin as well. I could also try playing with different steps in the process. For example, use a higher amount of heat for the hot water bath, add a little more salicylic acid, or even leave the mixture in the ice water for a longer amount of time. Not only would this allow me to figure out what I was doing wrong in past experiments, but it would also be interesting to see what impact these adjustments would have on the percentage yield.

The making of acetylsalicylic acid was a very fun and educational experience for me. I do not think that many other schools do this type of experiment often and I felt excited and lucky to be able to do it. I hope in the future to be able to more experiments like this, and improve on my methods of carrying them out in order to have even more successful results.