Making a Liquid Pure – Distillation – Extension Questions

1. When carrying out the distillation of ethyl acetate (and indeed other volatile liquids),
the boiling point of the purified material that is collected, is invariably lower than that
quoted in the literature. Briefly explain the reason why this is possible.

2. Draw a graph (with labelled axes) that illustrates the relationship between boiling
point and pressure.

3. Briefly discuss some of the ways that a sample of freshly distilled ethyl acetate can
be further analysed to confirm its structure.

4. In fractional distillation the efficiency of the columns used in this technique is

expressed in terms of theoretical plates. In this context, what is the accepted
definition of a theoretical plate, and what units are attributed to this term?

5. The preferred method of purifying very high boiling point liquids, is to use a vacuum
distillation approach. Draw and appropriately label a table that would be routinely
used as a distillation record of the material collected. (You may assume that the
distillate has a refractive index).