Organic Chemistry PreLab Activity, Lab Reports of Organic Chemistry

Download Organic Chemistry PreLab Activity and more Lab Reports Organic Chemistry in PDF only on Docsity! Prelab Activity Experiment 5 1. Consult a chemical handbook or on-line sources, and complete the following table regarding caffeine. Chemical Synonym: 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine Structural Formula: Melting point: 227 to 228 °C Toxicity: greater than 10 g can be fatal   2. Define the term “alkaloid.” Explain why caffeine is considered an alkaloid. An alkaloid is a huge group of naturally occurring organic compounds which contain nitrogen atom or atoms (amino or amido in some cases) in their structures. Alkaloids can react with acids and then form salts, just like inorganic alkalis, it is usually colorless, odorless crystalline solids, but sometimes they can be yellowish liquids in its pure form and quite often having a bitter taste. Caffeine is considered to be a xanthine alkaloid as it mostly contains nitrogen atoms, it also naturally occurs in seeds, leaves, and fruits that act as a natural pesticide. 3. Search the literature and identify the common acidulants in tea, coffee, and soft drinks. Drink Common Acidulants Tea Succinic, oxalic, malic, citric, isocitric acids Coffee Citric, acetic, lactic, malic, phosphoric acids Soft Drinks Citric acid and phosphoric acid