1. Risk Assessment
Equipment/Chemical/Hazard Hazard Risk Precaution
Glassware Health hazard, Irritation of the eye, Wear glasses, goggles and a
environmental inflammation of the lab coat, use glasses in good
hazard, skin, Spillages, condition
shattered glass in
skin or eyes,
poisoning
4-aminophenol Health hazard, suspected of Wash with hot water and soap
environmental causing genetic if contact on skin, wear eye
hazard, harmful defects. goggles, gloves, and a lab
coat when handling, irrigate
Harmful if the eye under cold water for
swallowed or if 20 minutes, call 999 if
inhaled. severely damaged
Very toxic to aquatic
life with long lasting
effects.
Ethanoic anhydride Explosive, Sore throat. Cough. no contact with water or
flammable Burning sensation in incompatible substances. no
the throat and chest. open flames, no sparks and
Shortness of breath. no smoking. Above 49°C use
Chest pain. a closed system, ventilation
Laboured breathing. and explosion-proof electrical
Serious skin burns, equipment.
Severe burns of the
eye Corneal damage
Ethanoic acid Corrosive, causes severe skin Wear glasses, goggles and a
flammable, burns and eye lab coat, irrigate the eye under
toxic damage, very toxic if cold water for 20 minutes, call
inhaled and 999 if severely damaged, do
swallowed, causes not use ethanoic acid as gas
health issues state
Paracetamol Toxic, health Overdosage would If as medicine, read the
hazard cause damage to instructions on the packaging
your liver and may for safety, do not take more
result in death than 6 to 8 in 24 hours to
prevent overdosage, seek
medical help or call 999 if this
is the case. If a chemical, do
not inhale any fumes that may
be presented. As always, wear
goggles, gloves and a lab coat
when handling.
References: https://science.cleapss.org.uk/Resource/All-in-one-Student-Safety-
Sheets.pdf
https://www.dcfinechemicals.com/catalogo/Hojas%20de%20seguridad%20(EN)/10079
0-SDS-EN.pdf
https://theory.labster.com/hazard_symbols/
, https://chemicalsafety.ilo.org/dyn/icsc/showcard.display?p_card_id=0209
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/paracetamol
2. Equation
A hand drawn structural equation of the reaction
4-aminophenol + ethanoic anhydride→ paracetamol + ethanoic acid
+ → +
References: https://www.fishersci.fi/shop/products/4-aminophenol-97-thermo-
scientific/10142560
https://lab.honeywell.com/shop/acetic-anhydride-33214
https://www.123rf.com/photo_12416391_paracetamol-acetaminophen-structural-
formula.html
3. How do you calculate percentage yield?
Percentage yield = (Actual yield / theoretical yield) x 100
References:
4. Why do you not get a 100% yield? (Factors)
-impurity of the reactants
-side reactions
-incomplete reactions due to pressure, volume, heat, surface area, concentration,
absence of catalysts
-product loss at separation, purification and filtration
-Reversable reactions
-duration of reactions
References: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ztbqfcw/revision/3
5. How do we test for the purity of paracetamol
The mean melting point of paracetamol is between 169–170.5 °C. This melting point of
paracetamol can differ if there are impurities in the solution. Having impurities in the
solution tells us that there will be other compounds present that will have different
