Esterfication Lab

Last class we did an Esterfication Lab. The purpose of the lab was to synthesize an Ester from a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. To refresh our minds this is what an Esterfication reaction looks like:

The class was presented with three Ester's to synthesize; Methyl Salicylate, Isobutyl Methanoate, and Octyl Ethanoate. Most of the class chose Methyl Salicylate because it had a higher chance of producing a smell. To make Methyl Salicylate we added one scoop of Salicylic acid to a test tube. We then added roughly 15 drops of of methanol to the same test tube along with 3 drops of Sulphuric acid. The mixture was then placed in a hot water bath for 15 minutes with a beaker covering the test tube so as to allow gas to escape. After the hot water bath the mixture was placed in an ice water bath for 2 minutes. After the ice bath was completing we wafted the smell ad found that the newly formed Ester had a wintergreen smell, confirming the information we had received earlier. Though this version of making wintergreen is different than how our class did it, it still gives you an idea of what we did as it does contain similarities.