1. What is paracetamol?
Paracetamol is a common painkiller. As it has painkiller properties, it is used more commonly
for treating aches and pains by reducing their effects. They can also be used for treating feverish
temperatures. It is made by hydrolysing a known ester called 4-Aminophenol with sodium
hydroxide, this production of paracetamol is usually maintained in manufacturing industries. It
can affect the body by blocking the chemical messengers in the brain that tell your body that
you have pain. It also reduces high temperatures by affecting the chemical messengers in an
area of the brain that regulates body temperature. The possible side effects when taking
paracetamol include: allergic reactions, low blood pressure, flushing and liver damages if
overdosed
References: https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/paracetamol-for-adults/about-paracetamol-for-
adults/
https://pure.aber.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/70859942/ed3c00549_si_001.pdf
https://www.nhsinform.scot/tests-and-treatments/medicines-and-medical-aids/types-of-
medicine/paracetamol/
2. What is a pure substance?
A pure substance refers to a mixture which contains ONLY ONE type of chemical or compound.
As pure substances are more preferred because they are untampered with and we can assess an
individual chemical’s melting point, solubility etc without any errors from other chemicals, we
would want to determine if a chemical is pure or not. One way we can is by using
chromatographic techniques, this will enable us to determine a mixtures purity as
chromatography separates different mixtures in terms of solubility, adsorption and polarity. We
can determine the difference in purity by using the results found on the chromatogram, if we
see more than one spot on the chromatogram, this means that the solution is impure as there
should only be one spot identifying one chemical. If we are not using chromatography, a visible
distinction may be appropriate. For clarity, if we know the solutions purity from their colour or
any other distinction, we can use this knowledge to understand if there are differences in the
solution by using our senses. However, some solutions are harder to show visible differences
than others and so using our senses may be unreliable.
References: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zhjptrd#zk86m39
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zgt6b82/revision/3
3. What is a functional group?
A hydroxyl group is a functional group which contains a single oxygen and a single hydrogen
chemically bonded forming a negative –OH ion, it is usually found in alcohol or other organic
compounds. When a molecule has a hydroxyl group, they are able to form bonds with an
oxygen ion from another hydroxyl group using the positive hydrogen ion from another molecule
or the same molecule which can form an intermolecular or intramolecular bond called hydrogen
bond, these bonds tend to be formed between hydrogen and the three electronegative
elements (nitrogen, fluorine and oxygen), their main properties are: raising melting or boiling
points, tend to be less volatile. An amide group refers to an organic compound which consists of
a carbonyl group attached to an amine group. The amide functional group is given as -CONH2.
References: https://www.britannica.com/science/hydroxyl-group
https://www.vedantu.com/chemistry/hydrogen-bond
https://study.com/academy/lesson/amide-definition-structure-formation.html
, 4. What is reflux?
Reflux is a chemical technique which speeds up reactions using heat in a contained apparatus,
as we are discussing about organic compounds, heating up compounds are volatile and so
adding heat unspecifically would cause it to explode. How they work is by heating the chemical
reaction for a specific amount of time, while continually cooling the vapour down produced
back into liquid form, using a condenser. The vapours produced above the reaction continually
undergo condensation, returning to the flask as a condensate. This way, it guarantees that the
temperature of the reaction stays constant.
References: https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/webapps/chemistryonline/production/reflux.php
https://telgurus.co.uk/what-is-reflux-chemistry/
5. Techniques
Reflux is a chemical technique which speeds up reactions using heat in a contained apparatus,
as we are discussing about organic compounds, heating up compounds are volatile and so
adding heat unspecifically would cause it to explode.
Crystallisation is a chemical separation process where solutions containing compounds are
heated and would cause the solvent to be evaporated and thus removed leaving solid crystals
forming
