Q.Draw a labelled diagram of the apparatus used in Fractional Distillation.
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →A fractional distillation set-up is a simple distillation apparatus with a packed fractionating column inserted between the boiling flask and the condenser, which lets components of different boiling points separate by repeated vaporisation-condensation as vapour rises through the column.
Since this question asks the student to draw a labelled diagram, here is a complete description of the apparatus and every labelled component, which the student should sketch:
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Round-bottom (distillation) flask: placed at the bottom, containing the liquid mixture to be separated (e.g., a mixture of two miscible liquids with different boiling points). It is heated from below using a burner or heating mantle, typically resting on a wire gauze on a retort stand for even heating.
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Fractionating column: a long vertical glass tube (often with side bulbs, or simply packed with glass beads, glass rings, or short glass tubes) fixed onto the neck of the distillation flask, standing upright. As vapour rises through the column, it repeatedly condenses on the packing and re-vaporises; each cycle enriches the vapour in the more volatile (lower boiling point) component, while the less volatile component condenses and drips back down into the flask. This repeated partial condensation/re-vaporisation is what achieves a sharper separation than simple distillation.
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Thermometer: inserted at the top of the fractionating column through a thermometer adapter, with its bulb positioned level with the side-arm opening, to record the temperature (boiling point) of the vapour actually leaving the column.
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Still-head / side arm: leads the vapour from the top of the column sideways into the condenser.
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