I wanted to calculate the theoretical and actual yield of aspirin.

mass of salicylic acid = 2.005 g

But isn't salicylic acid differ. from acetic acid? If so, how do we find the mass of acetic acid in this experiment

volume of acetic anhydride = 4 ml

mass of acetic anhydride (use 1.08 g/ml for the liquid density) = (1.08 g/ml)(4 ml)= 4.32 g

moles of acetic anhydride ((CH3CO)2O; molar mass = 86 g) = 4.32 g / 86 g = .0502 mol

mass of filter paper = .196 g

mass of weighing tray = 1.900 g

mass of aspirin, filter paper, and weighing tray = 4.286 g

mass of aspirin = 2.19 g

moles of aspirin (C9H8O4; molar mass = 180 g) = 2.19 g / 180 g = .0121 mol

I know the percent yield is equal to the mass of actual yield divided by the theoretical yield and is multiplied by 100%. Also, there has to be a balanced equation in order to calculate the theoretical yield. But I'm a little confused on how to set up the balanced equation.

3 answers

1 mol acetic anhydride + 1 mol salicylic acid = 1 mol aspirin
I don't know the formulas (I could look them up but you probably have them) but the above tells you what you want to know. It's a 1:1 ratio throughout.
You will need to calculate the mols salicylic acid and mols acetic anhydride and determine the limiting reagent. Then you can calculate the theoretical yield.
ok thank you
wait, I just have one quick question. I realized the equation for this experiment would be

C7H6O3 + C4H6O3 ----> C9H8O4 + C2H4O2

BUT... acetic acid's formula is C2H402 in molecular formula. Is the above equation right? Also, I realized after mixing salicylic acid and acetic anhydride this yields aspirin and acetic acid. But how do I obtain the mass of acetic acid?