Stoichiometry, finding mass of product

[purplemonkey123]

If 1.20 grams of salicylic acid is reacted with excess methanol, what mass of ester should you expect to achieve theoretically?

Molar masses of..
salicylic acid is 138.13g/mol
methanol is 32.05g/mol
ester (methyl salicylate) is 152.16g/mol

Mole ratio
1:1

My work:
1. 1.20 g salicylic acid (1 mol salicylic acid/138.13 g salicylic acid) = 0.008687468 mol salicylic acid

2. 0.008687468 mol salicylic acid (1 mol ester/1 mol salicylic acid) = 0.008687468 mol ester

3. 0.008687468 mol ester (152.16 g ester/1 mol ester) = 1.32 g ester


so 1.32g of ester would be expected.

Is my work correct? or do I have to use the excess reagent to find the mass of the product?

[hypervalent_iodine]

No, you always use the limiting reagent. By definition, it is the component that limits the amount of product formed.

 

Using your molar masses and mass amounts, I get the same answer.