Many natural and artificial flavorings belong to a class of compounds called esters. Esters are produced by a chemical process called esterification, and in this activity, students will have the chance to prepare and examine several synthetic flavorings that are esters. Scientific Inquiry Students conduct an investigation in making esters. Students use evidence from that investigation to propose explanations for how Dowex resin functions in the reactions. A characteristic property of an ester is its strong aroma.
Some esters have recognizable odors and are used in food flavorings.
A compound is formed when two or more kinds of atoms combine chemically. The ester is formed by the combination of the remainder of the acid and the alcohol molecules. Chemical Reactions, Grades 9-12 Catalysts accelerate chemical reactions. Dowex beads or concentrated sulfuric acid serves as a catalyst in this investigation, scavenging the water produced by the esterification reaction and driving the reaction towards producing an ester. Page maintained by Steve Gentle, Research Associate.