Reversible Esterification and the Silver Mirror Test

ChemistryOrganic ChemistryAges 16–17

Esterification mode: a carboxylic acid and an alcohol meet in a test tube with concentrated H₂SO₄ as catalyst; ester and water molecules form until the reaction settles at equilibrium, and changing the alcohol : acid mole ratio recalculates the yield from the equilibrium constant K = 4 with a live yield bar. Silver mirror mode: gently heat a carbonyl compound with Tollens' reagent – an aldehyde deposits a bright silver layer on the tube wall while a ketone does not – along with the equation and the mass of Ag produced.