Question

Simple distillation, Fractional distillation, Gas Chromatography on hexane and heptane. (the goal of this experiment is to separate the mixture heptane and hexane )

Explain why the observed starting vapor temperature in the simple distillation should be above the boiling point of hexane. I am very confused on this question.

Answer 1

In simple distillation, the observed starting vapor temperature should be above the boiling point of hexane to ensure that hexane evaporates first and is collected separately.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the process of simple distillation, a mixture is heated to vaporize the more volatile component and then condensed to obtain the separated components. The observed starting vapor temperature should be above the boiling point of hexane because hexane is the more volatile component compared to heptane in the mixture. By setting the starting vapor temperature above the boiling point of hexane, we ensure that hexane evaporates first, condenses, and is collected separately.