help!!!!!!!! i'm bad in chem?

Question

What is the theoretical yield (in g) of salicylic acid (assuming you start with 0.50g of methyl salicylate)? g

Answer 1

Methyl salicylate is C8H8O3, mol. wt. = 152. Salicylic acid is C7H6O3, mol. wt. = 138

Let methyl salicylate be called MS. Let salicylic acid be called SA.

0.50gMS x 1molMS/152gMS x 1molSA/1molMS x 138gSA/1molSA = 0.45g salicylic acid

Answer 2

You'll need 1) a balanced reaction and 2) the molar masses of methyl salicylate and salicylic acid.

For 1) - it's a 1:1 reactant-product ratio (I remember that much), so 1 mole of methyl salicylate will produce (theoretically) 1 mole of salicylic acid.

For 2) - convert 0.50 g methyl salicylate to moles. Moles methyl salicylate x 1 mole salicylic acid/1 mole methyl salicylate = moles salicylic acid. Convert moles salicylic acid to grams, and there's your theoretical yield.