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Facts / post lab answers
- Equilibrium is driven towards product to produce a higher yield of ester in this experiment because the reflux step takes out everything else in the compound and keeps the organic layer itself. By doing reflux 3 times, total of 45 minutes, it gets rid of unnecessary substance in the compound other than the ester. So it is able to produce higher % than 70%.
- Using a sulfuric acid can speed up the reaction. Also, it can act as a dehydrating agent which is good for forcing the equilibrium to be higher yield of ester.
- Carboxylic acid is soluble in water. As it reacts with sodium bicarbonate it removes itself during the extraction phase. So, during extraction of the experiment, most of the excess carboxylic acid is removed.
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