You will see the formation of a crystalline solid inside the flask after 2-3 hours of reflux. After refluxing the mixture for six hours, concentrate the solution to half by distillation. Filter the solution using a suction pump and wash the solid with alcohol. The solid is the potassium salt of indoleacetic acid. A precipitate forms.
Air dry the crystalline indole acetic acid.
Mix the filtrate from step 10 with 50 ml of dilute sulfuric acid and filter. The precipate is worked up as described in step 11. Determine the melting point of the solid and compare your results with the value from literature. Determine the melting point again to see whether there is a depression of the melting poiny. Transfer the flat to the greenhouse, and grow for additional 7-10 days.