Methyl 3-nitrobenzoate is a solid at room temperature.
A chemist prepares methyl 3-nitrobenzoate as outlined below.
Step 1 15.0 cm315.0\text{ cm}^315.0 cm3 of methyl benzoate (density =1.08 g cm−3 = 1.08\text{ g cm}^{-3}=1.08 g cm−3) is reacted with concentrated nitric acid in the presence of concentrated sulfuric acid as a catalyst.
Step 2 The mixture is poured onto ice. Impure crystals of methyl 3-nitrobenzoate appear.
Step 3 The impure crystals are purified to obtain pure methyl 3-nitrobenzoate.
The chemist obtains 16.8 g16.8\text{ g}16.8 g of pure methyl 3-nitrobenzoate.
Outline the mechanism for this reaction, including the role of H2SO4\text{H}_2\text{SO}_4H2SO4 as a catalyst.
Determine the percentage yield of methyl 3-nitrobenzoate. Give your answer to 3 significant figures.
Describe how to purify the impure crystals in Step 3.
14 exam-style questions on OCR A A Level Chemistry Aromatic compounds. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.