This is a question from my organic chemistry course, but due to the nature of it, I have chosen to post in the high school forum.
We have extracted o-acteylsalicylic acid from aspirin and crystallized it. A question is what is the difference between crystallization and precipitation. I know that both require a supersaturated solution, but do not know what differentiates one from the other. I know that a precipitate is the result of a chemical reaction, so would that mean that crystallization is only a physical change? Do precipitates form in solution and crystals form through vacuum filtration?
Any help is appreciated!
-Impulse.