HOW did THEY make aspirin? At school?
Achey day, headache please, go away.
And I'm getting a fever, Oy vey!
Can you tell me how to make, how to make aspirin today?
These you take, when aspirin you make.
Salicylic acid's on the list
And acetic anhydride and an acid catalyst.
Sulfuric to be exact. Mix them all and they react,
And an ester is formed. You esterify. You esterify.
On phenol, acetyl finds its goal.
And from water, white crystals arise.
And to make them pure, from alcohol recrystallize.
by Thomas Ott
Oakland University, Rochester MI
At a college chemistry lab.