CAIE A Level Chemistry 9701 · Organic synthesis
Aspirin is prepared by reacting 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (salicylic acid) with ethanoic anhydride. The structure of aspirin contains a benzene ring, a carboxylic acid group, and an ester group.
Describe how you would identify the functional groups in aspirin using the reactions in the syllabus. For each functional group, give a suitable reagent and the observation you would expect.
5 marks, so the mark scheme is looking for about 5 separate creditworthy points. Making the same point twice in different words earns it once.
Describe means: Say what happens or what something is like, in order and with detail. You are not being asked why. If there is data, quote it: name the trend, then give figures with units at the points where it changes.
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