Discussion:

From the experiment, the molarity of aspirin is 0.0002700mol/L. The molarity of

acetylsalicylic acid is 8.904mM.The amount of aspirin of the unknown is 0.00486g.

Acetylsalicylic acid, commonly known as aspirin, absorbs light in the UV region of the
electromagnetic spectrum. Spectrophotometers are used to measure the amount of light
absorbed or transmitted by a sample. The instrument disperses white light into its
component wavelengths by passing light through either a prism or a grating. The intensity
of light at any wavelength can be measured with a detector, such as a photocell, a
photomultiplier tube, or a solid-state device called a charge-coupled device (CCD) .
Absorbance is the ratio of the negative logarithm of light intensity transmitted from a
sample divided by the intensity of incoming light. This is expressed mathematically in
equation 1:
-log I/Io =A
The Beer-Lamber Law (often shortened to Beer’s Law) relates the absorbance of a
sample to the concentration of a species in solution and is the relationship used when
making quantitative measurements. Mathematically, Beer’s law is expressed as shown in
equation 2 :
A=€lc
where A is the measured absorbance of the solution, € is the molar absorptivity of the
substance, l is the path width for the cell, and c is the concentration. By measuring the
absorbance of several solutions of known concentration, we are able to prepare a graph
that can be used to determine concentrations of unknowns.
The sources of error in the experiment is tissue paper was not used to wipe the
fingerprints of the cuvette. This will cause the results were not accurate. The beaker was
not washed during the experiment ,this caused an error in the results.
The precaution of the experiment is to be careful when using acetic anhydride because
it is violently reactive toward water, flammable, corrosive, and can cause burns. Work
with acetic anhydride in the fume hood only. The Fe3+ solution has been acidified to pH
< 2 with hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide is a strong base. Both are corrosive and
can cause burns; prevent contact with eyes, skin and clothing.