In this experiment, the components of “Wellactin A” were separated into sucrose, an unknown carboxylic acid, and an unknown organic neutral compound. The unknown compounds were identified by their melting points and the percent recovered was calculated. First, the sucrose was separated by dissolving the organic acid and the organic neutral compound in diethyl ether. 104.9% was recovered, so that means the sucrose was not entirely pure. The sucrose could have been contaminated by another compound or residual diethyl ether may not have evaporated from the very bottom of the tube. To only dissolve the sucrose water could be added. Neither the carboxylic acid nor the neutral compound would be soluble in water, so the sucrose could be isolated.
