Guided lesson

Practical: Preparation of Ethyl Ethanoate

4CH1-4.39C4CH1-4.43C

2 guided lessons · 18 checks · 4. Organic Chemistry → Esters

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Lesson 1 of 2

Aim and method: gentle heat and a quick exit

The practical makes a small sample of ethyl ethanoate from its two parents and the acid catalyst. Ethanol is flammable, so the heating stays gentle: a water bath or electric heater instead of a flame, and the ester is distilled off the moment it forms.

What you know already

From Esters you already know ethyl ethanoate as the ester of ethanol and ethanoic acid. This note turns the recipe into a real experiment: gentle heating with the acid catalyst, distilling the ester out as it forms, and washing the sample clean of everything that travelled with it.

Key points of understanding

The aim is to make a small sample of ethyl ethanoate.
Ethanoic acid, ethanol and concentrated sulfuric acid are heated gently together.
A water bath or electric heater replaces a Bunsen flame because ethanol is flammable.
The ester is distilled off as soon as it forms and collected by condensation.
Distilling the ester away stops the reverse reaction re-forming the reactants.

Tell us your confidence level against the key points

Choose a confidence level to continue.

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1.Aim and method: gentle heat and a quick exit

4CH1-4.43C4CH1-4.39C

Key points

The aim is to make a small sample of ethyl ethanoate.
Ethanoic acid, ethanol and concentrated sulfuric acid are heated gently together.
A water bath or electric heater replaces a Bunsen flame because ethanol is flammable.
The ester is distilled off as soon as it forms and collected by condensation.
Distilling the ester away stops the reverse reaction re-forming the reactants.

First pass

Ethanoic acid, ethanol and concentrated sulfuric acid are warmed gently together, with no naked flame because ethanol is flammable. The ester boils off first and is collected as it condenses in a separate beaker.

Analogy — The setup is a gentle spa rather than a furnace: warm water does the heating, and the ester is ushered out the moment it appears.

Exam pointer — Name the safety reason for the water bath; the flammability of ethanol is the expected answer.

Going deeper

A gentle heat from a water bath or electric heater warms ethanoic acid, ethanol and concentrated sulfuric acid together. The ester, being volatile with a low boiling point, leaves the mixture first and is distilled off at once, so the reverse reaction cannot push it back into reactants.

Analogy — Distilling the ester away is like serving food the second it is plated: nothing sits around long enough to be sent back to the kitchen.

Exam pointer — Link low boiling points to leaving first, and removal to preventing the reverse reaction; both ideas carry marks.

Checks

0 of 9 attempted · 0 correct

1.Which three substances are heated together in the flask?
2.Why is a Bunsen burner not used for the heating?
3.Why is the ester distilled off as soon as it forms?
4.Why do esters leave the reaction mixture before the other liquids?
5.How is the distilled ester collected?
6.State the catalyst used in the flask when preparing ethyl ethanoate.
Written response · recall
Your answer
7.How is the ester separated from the reaction mixture as it forms?
Written response · recall
Your answer
8.Explain why distilling the ester away as it forms raises the amount of ester finally made.
Written response · explain why
Your answer
9.A student proposes heating the flask with a Bunsen burner to speed the reaction up. State the hazard that rules this out and the safer equipment to use instead.
Written response · application
Your answer

2.Result: washing the sample clean

4CH1-4.43C

The collected distillate is more than ester: acids and ethanol travel over with it. Washing follows, first with sodium carbonate solution until the fizzing stops, then with calcium chloride solution to catch the ethanol, leaving the sweet ester behind.

Key points

Smelling the distillate confirms whether an ester has formed.
Small amounts of ethanoic acid, sulfuric acid and ethanol come over with the ester.
Sodium carbonate solution removes the acidic impurities until the mixture stops fizzing.
The fizzing ends when no further carbon dioxide escapes.
Calcium chloride solution removes the leftover ethanol from the sample.

First pass

Smell the distillate for the sweet ester. Sodium carbonate washing removes the acids until fizzing stops, and calcium chloride washing removes the leftover ethanol.

Analogy — The washes are a bouncer pair: the carbonate escorts out the acids, the chloride escorts out the ethanol, and only the ester stays at the party.

Exam pointer — Match each wash to what it removes; the pairing is a standard practical question.

Going deeper

The raw distillate carries small quantities of ethanoic acid, sulfuric acid and ethanol alongside the ester. Sodium carbonate is added until no further carbon dioxide escapes, showing the acids are gone, and calcium chloride solution then strips out the ethanol.

Analogy — Purifying runs like a two-question quiz: does it still fizz, and has the ethanol gone; each wash answers one question before the sample is clean.

Exam pointer — Quote the fizzing test as evidence the acidic impurities have gone; the observation carries the mark.

Checks

0 of 9 attempted · 0 correct

1.How is the product checked before any washing begins?
2.Why is sodium carbonate solution added to the distillate?
3.What is the fizzing during the sodium carbonate wash?
4.What does the calcium chloride solution remove?
5.Which contaminants can still be present in the raw distillate before washing?
6.State the solution used to wash the acidic impurities out of the crude ester sample.
Written response · recall
Your answer
7.Which wash removes the leftover ethanol from the ester sample?
Written response · recall
Your answer
8.Explain what the fizzing during the sodium carbonate wash tells you, and why it eventually stops.
Written response · explain why
Your answer
9.After washing, a student waves a hand over the purified sample and notices a sweet, fruity smell. State what this observation confirms and name the class of compound present.
Written response · application
Your answer

From the revision note

Diagrams on this note's page that are not tied to a specific lesson.

Equipment for the preparation of ethyl ethanoate — The preparation of ethyl ethanoate

Guided content from the SME authoring corpus — note rn_7ZMc3T3J4SJXfNdR, pinned at 45d591243cae · promoted SyllabAI/syllabai-resources e967e75f1339

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Guided lesson

Practical: Preparation of Ethyl Ethanoate

4CH1-4.39C4CH1-4.43C

2 guided lessons · 18 checks · 4. Organic Chemistry → Esters

Guided lessons for this note

Which concept don't you understand yet?

We'll explain it simply and check your understanding. Pick any lesson — any order works.

0 of 18 checks correct so far

Lesson 1 of 2

Aim and method: gentle heat and a quick exit

What you know already

Key points of understanding

The aim is to make a small sample of ethyl ethanoate.
Ethanoic acid, ethanol and concentrated sulfuric acid are heated gently together.
A water bath or electric heater replaces a Bunsen flame because ethanol is flammable.
The ester is distilled off as soon as it forms and collected by condensation.
Distilling the ester away stops the reverse reaction re-forming the reactants.

Tell us your confidence level against the key points

Choose a confidence level to continue.

Prefer to read it all at once? Show the full lesson as a page

1.Aim and method: gentle heat and a quick exit

4CH1-4.43C4CH1-4.39C

Key points

The aim is to make a small sample of ethyl ethanoate.
Ethanoic acid, ethanol and concentrated sulfuric acid are heated gently together.
A water bath or electric heater replaces a Bunsen flame because ethanol is flammable.
The ester is distilled off as soon as it forms and collected by condensation.
Distilling the ester away stops the reverse reaction re-forming the reactants.

First pass

Analogy — The setup is a gentle spa rather than a furnace: warm water does the heating, and the ester is ushered out the moment it appears.

Exam pointer — Name the safety reason for the water bath; the flammability of ethanol is the expected answer.

Going deeper

Analogy — Distilling the ester away is like serving food the second it is plated: nothing sits around long enough to be sent back to the kitchen.

Exam pointer — Link low boiling points to leaving first, and removal to preventing the reverse reaction; both ideas carry marks.

Checks

0 of 9 attempted · 0 correct

1.Which three substances are heated together in the flask?
2.Why is a Bunsen burner not used for the heating?
3.Why is the ester distilled off as soon as it forms?
4.Why do esters leave the reaction mixture before the other liquids?
5.How is the distilled ester collected?
6.State the catalyst used in the flask when preparing ethyl ethanoate.
Written response · recall
Your answer
7.How is the ester separated from the reaction mixture as it forms?
Written response · recall
Your answer
8.Explain why distilling the ester away as it forms raises the amount of ester finally made.
Written response · explain why
Your answer
9.A student proposes heating the flask with a Bunsen burner to speed the reaction up. State the hazard that rules this out and the safer equipment to use instead.
Written response · application
Your answer

2.Result: washing the sample clean

4CH1-4.43C

Key points

Smelling the distillate confirms whether an ester has formed.
Small amounts of ethanoic acid, sulfuric acid and ethanol come over with the ester.
Sodium carbonate solution removes the acidic impurities until the mixture stops fizzing.
The fizzing ends when no further carbon dioxide escapes.
Calcium chloride solution removes the leftover ethanol from the sample.

First pass

Smell the distillate for the sweet ester. Sodium carbonate washing removes the acids until fizzing stops, and calcium chloride washing removes the leftover ethanol.

Analogy — The washes are a bouncer pair: the carbonate escorts out the acids, the chloride escorts out the ethanol, and only the ester stays at the party.

Exam pointer — Match each wash to what it removes; the pairing is a standard practical question.

Going deeper

Analogy — Purifying runs like a two-question quiz: does it still fizz, and has the ethanol gone; each wash answers one question before the sample is clean.

Exam pointer — Quote the fizzing test as evidence the acidic impurities have gone; the observation carries the mark.

Checks

0 of 9 attempted · 0 correct

1.How is the product checked before any washing begins?
2.Why is sodium carbonate solution added to the distillate?
3.What is the fizzing during the sodium carbonate wash?
4.What does the calcium chloride solution remove?
5.Which contaminants can still be present in the raw distillate before washing?
6.State the solution used to wash the acidic impurities out of the crude ester sample.
Written response · recall
Your answer
7.Which wash removes the leftover ethanol from the ester sample?
Written response · recall
Your answer
8.Explain what the fizzing during the sodium carbonate wash tells you, and why it eventually stops.
Written response · explain why
Your answer
9.After washing, a student waves a hand over the purified sample and notices a sweet, fruity smell. State what this observation confirms and name the class of compound present.
Written response · application
Your answer

From the revision note

Diagrams on this note's page that are not tied to a specific lesson.

Guided content from the SME authoring corpus — note rn_7ZMc3T3J4SJXfNdR, pinned at 45d591243cae · promoted SyllabAI/syllabai-resources e967e75f1339

Back to the revision note All revision notes