Final answer:
The dry distillation of a mixture of calcium acetate and calcium formate produces acetone. This is a chemical reaction involving the decarboxylation of calcium acetate and the decomposition of calcium formate under high temperature conditions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The dry distillation of a mixture of calcium acetate and calcium formate results in the formation of acetone. The chemical reaction involves the decarboxylation of calcium acetate to form acetone and the decomposition of calcium formate to produce hydrogen gas and calcium carbonate. These processes happen simultaneously when the mixture is subjected to high temperatures in the absence of moisture (dry distillation).
Acetic acid, C2H4O2, is related to calcium acetate, as acetic acid is its acidic form. When conducting esterification reactions, acetic acid can react with alcohols like ethanol to form compounds such as ethyl acetate, but this is a separate process from dry distillation. For example, acetic acid reacts with ethanol to form water and ethyl acetate in the presence of acid catalysis.
Therefore, the correct answer is D. acetone.