Finding the equivalent of a compound

[reising1]

Homework Statement

I am reacting methyl salicylate with sodium hydroxide to form salicylic acid. I am required to find the equivalent of sodium hydroxide, however I've never even heard of such a term. I didn't learn anything about "equivalent" in Intro Chem. Can anyone help? There are no units, because this sheet says that the equivalent for methyl salicylate is 1.0.

Homework Equations

I don't know if there are any relevant equations.

The Attempt at a Solution

I researched online and didn't find much.

 

[SteamKing]

The following link 'splains about equivalents:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equivalent_weight