Question

Aspirin is administered in the form of a salt or in the presence of $ NaHC{O_3} $ . This is to avoid the side effects of a compound X obtained during hydrolysis. Here X is.
(A) Sulphuric acid
(B) Acetic acid
(C) Phenol
(D) 2-hydroxy benzoic acid

Answer 1

Hint: We know that Aspirin is a drug that is used as a medication to reduce pain, fever or inflammation on the skin. Usually, people take aspirin in cases of severe migraine or headache. Originally Aspirin is a chemical compound called acetylsalicylic acid or the ASA. The compound X is a weak acid.

Complete Step by Step answer:
We know that aspirin is chemically the acetylsalicylic acid and is a drug used for medical purposes. The acetylsalicylic acid has the chemical formula $ {C_9}{H_8}{O_4} $ . However, it is an aromatic compound with an acetoxy $ \left( {C{H_3} - C\left( { = O} \right) - O} \right) $ group as the substituent and a carboxylic acid $ \left( {C( = O)OH} \right) $ functional group.
Aspirin is formed by a method called the esterification. The esterification involves Salicylic acid and an acetic anhydride as reactants which during esterification causes a chemical reaction that turns the salicylic acid’s hydroxyl $ \left( {OH} \right) $ functional group into an ester group $ \left( {R - OCOC{H_3}} \right) $ , thus giving us acetylsalicylic acid (called as aspirin) and acetic acid as a by-product.
Now we know that aspirin when manufactured as a drug are manufactured in the mild presence of sodium bicarbonate $ \left( {NaHC{O_3}} \right) $ . This is done so because aspirin can undergo hydrolysis in the presence of moisture to decompose as salicylic acid and acetic acid.
Thus, the undesirable compound X is acetic acid.

Note:
The presence of acetic acid can be identified by the vinegar-like smell on your Aspirin tablets. If you experience such smell, then consider not taking them because the acetic acid can cause side effects.