Answer to Question #77488 in General Chemistry for Jo

Question

Using the table of boiling points below, determine which compounds would be collected first, second, third, and fourth. Describe why you made the choices you made.

*The table*
Chemical compound | Boiling Point (Celsius)
Acetaldehyde | 20.8
Acetic Acid | 118.0
Ethanol | 78.5
Ethyl Acetate | 77.0

Answer 1

The boiling point of a compound is the temperature at which it changes from a liquid to a gas. This is a physical property often used to identify substances or to check the purity of the compound. The smaller the boiling point, the faster you can separate the substance during distillation.

Acetaldehyde would be collected first, ethyl acetate would be collected second, ethanol would be collected third, acetic acid would be collected fourth.