EXPERIMENT #7

ACTIVITY SERIES OF METALS

Introduction
• The periodic table shows the pattern of recurring
trends called periodicity. Periodicity is the fundamental
aspect of the periodic table.
• Periodic Tables abound:
 they are color coded to denote
 the classification of the elements;
 they may show the atomic weights, valences,
 electronic configurations, orbitals, physical state
of the element whether gas,liquid or solid. Activity Series
 More commonly, one would see the chemical • The reactivity series of metals, also known as the
symbol and its atomic number (Z). Columns are activity series, refers to the arrangement of metals
numbered to correspond to their family; and in the descending order of their reactivities.
rows are numbered that correspond to their
principal quantum number (n). Each square in the
Periodic Table has an element that is
represented by a chemical symbol.

Reactivity of Metals
 Metals are considered reactive if they easily
lose electrons when they come in contact
with other substances, such as water or
acids. The chemical reaction involves the
loss of electrons from the metal to form
positive ions.
 The reactivity series ranks metals by how
readily they react. More reactive metals
displace less reactive metals from their
compounds and react with water.
 The reactivity series is a series of metals,
in order of reactivity from highest to lowest.
 It is used to determine the products of
single displacement reactions, whereby
metal A will replace another metal B in a
solution if A is higher in the series.
 Activity series of some of the more common
metals, listed in descending order of
reactivity.

Data and Results

Order of Reactivity
• Experimental observation in the laboratory which
includes:
 Reaction of metals with cold water
 Reaction of metals with dilute HCl
• Using the activity series obtained from the
experiment observations enable:
 Prediction of reaction between metal oxides
with carbon or hydrogen
Determination of Activity Series
Reaction of Metals with Cold Water

Reaction of Metals with Steam

Reaction of Magnesium with Steam

Reaction of Metals with Steam

Reaction of Metals with Dilute HCl

Summary Table of Reactivity of

Metals

Determination of Activity Series

 EXPERIMENT #8
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INORGANIC AND ORGANIC
COMPOUNDS
Types of Compounds
Compounds are said to be of two types namely:
• Organic compounds
• Inorganic compounds
Difference between Organic and Inorganic Compounds
Solution
• Solution: a mixture of two or more substances that is
identical throughout (homogeneous)
• can be physically separated
• composed of solutes and solvents
- Solutes are substance being dissolved. It is the
lesser constituent by volume. (Ex: The Salt in the
Saltwater.)
- Solvents are substances that dissolves the solute.
It is the greater constituent by volume. (Ex: The
Water in the Saltwater.)
 The solvent is the largest part of the solution and
the solute is the smallest part of the solution
 Miscible liquids can easily dissolve in one another.
 Immiscible liquids are not soluble in each other.
The General Rule when it comes to Miscibility
“Likes dissolve likes.”
1. Polar solvents dissolve polar compounds
2. Non-polar solvents dissolve non-polar compounds.
Polarity and Dissolving
• Chemists use the saying “like dissolves like”:
 Polar solutes tend to dissolve in polar solvents.
 Nonpolar solutes tend to dissolve in nonpolar
solvents.
• Oil is nonpolar while water is polar. They are
immiscible.
What is Combustion?
• A chemical process in which a substance reacts with
the oxygen of air to give heat and light
• Combustion reaction is a reaction in which a substance
reacts with oxygen gas, releasing energy in the form of
light and heat.
• Combustion reactions must involve O2 as one reactant.
• The products of the combustion of hydrocarbons
are carbon dioxide and water.
• The combustion of hydrogen gas produces water vapor
• Example: Propane (C3H8) is a gaseous hydrocarbon that
is commonly used as the fuel source in gas grills.
C3H8(g)+5O2(g) →3CO2(g) +4H2O(g)
When salt is heated..
• When common salt is heated the white crystalline solid
power remains as it is. Common salt is a crystalline
compound. It contains Sodium and Chlorine ions fixed
and bonded strongly within a crystalline structure. The
ions do not move. The heat does not do anything, as
their bonds are strong. Salt powder (solid) does not
conduct electricity.
• But as the temperature is nearly 800 deg. C, the salt
reddens and melts into a liquid. It is called molten salt.
In the liquid phase, the ions are mobile. So the
compound dissociates into Na+ and Cl- ions. The liquid
behaves like any other liquid.
• When you HEAT salt (NaCl), it melts and then
vaporizes. But these physical changes require very high
temperatures. When you INTRODUCE salt to a FLAME,
you see a bright yellow coloration to the flame. This is
due to excitation of electrons in sodium atoms (sodium
ions or Na+ DO NOT have a 3s electrons).
When sugar is heated…
• The process is known as caramelization. When
sugar is continuously heated at very high
temperature, a black powdery substance is
obtained. This substance is charred sugar. This
process is a chemical change.
• Sucrose is a carbohydrate (hydrate of carbon).
The chemical formula of sucrose is C12H22O11.
 On heating, sucrose decomposes to carbon and
water.

C12H22O11 →12C + 11H2O

Water is lost as steam and only black ashes remains which
contains carbon.
Note:
Caramelization is browning of sugar. Caramelization has
widespread use in cooking to obtain brown colour and sweet
nutty flavor.

When baking soda is heated..

• Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), is a
chemical that can undergo a decomposition reaction
when heated. At temperatures above 176 oF or 80 oC,
sodium bicarbonate starts to break down into three
compounds, forming sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), water
(H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
• 2 NaHCO3 → Na2CO3 + H2O + CO2

Used of Potassium Permanganate

• One of the most important industrial applications of
KMnO4 is as an oxidizing agent in the chemical
synthesis of many important compounds.
• It is used extensively in the water treatment industry.
It is used as a regeneration chemical to remove iron
and hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell) from well water.
• On organic and analytical chemistry, because of its
strong color and oxidizing nature, KMnO4 is used in
chemistry laboratories as a reagent to calculate the
amount of substance that can be oxidized in a sample.
In qualitative analysis, this value is referred to as the
permanganate value.
• KMnO4 is such a strong oxidizing agent, the final
products are often carboxylic acids.

General Reactivity with Organic Molecules

• KMnO4 is able to oxidize carbon atoms if they contain
sufficiently weak bonds, including
• Carbon atoms with π bonds, as
in alkenes and alkynes
• Carbon atoms with weak C-H bonds, such as
 C-H bonds in the alpha-positions of
substituted aromatic rings
 C-H bonds in carbon atoms containing C-
O bonds, including alcohols and aldehydes
• Carbons with exceptionally weak C-C bonds such
as
 C-C bonds in a glycol
 C-C bonds next to an aromatic ring AND
an oxygen
KMnO4 also oxidizes phenol to para-benzoquinone
 EXPERIMENT #9
CHROMATOGRAPHIC SEPARATION

Chromatography
• A biophysical technique that enables the identification,
separation and purification of compound present in a
mixture for a quantitative and qualitative analysis is
Paper chromatography
Gas Chromatography
 Gas chromatography is a term used to describe
the group of analytical separation techniques used
to analyze volatile substances in the gas phase.
 In gas chromatography, the components of a
sample are dissolved in a solvent and vaporized in
order to separate the analytes by distributing the
sample between two phases: a stationary phase and
a mobile phase.
◦ 1900s, Gas chromatography (GC) was
discovered by Mikhail Semenovich Tsvett
as a separation technique to 1900s, Gas
chromatography (GC) was discovered by
Mikhail Semenovich Tsvett as a separation
technique to separate compounds.

Column Chromatography

 Chromatography is a method of separation.

 it was used to separate colored materials
(separations of colored materials are easy to
observe) – hence, the name.
 But, today, chromatography is used to separate
materials whether they are colored or not.
 The separation process is based on the fact that
porous solids adsorb different substances to different
extremes depending upon their polarity.
 The term “Adsorption” refers to the adhesion or
stickiness of a substance to the surface of another
substance, as opposed to
 The term “absorption” this refers to a substance
penetrating into the inner structure of another
substance.
 A mixture to be separated is first applied to an
immovable porous solid (like paper, or alumina, or fine
silica sand) called the stationary phase.
 The components of the mixture then get “washed”
along the porous solid by the flow of a solvent called
the mobile phase.
 The mobile phase can be liquid (as in column,
paper, or thin-layer chromatography) or it can be
a gas (as in gas chromatography).
 Substances can be identified by the heights they reach
on the completed chromatogram by calculating Rf (rate
of flow or retention factor) values.
 The Rf value is a constant for a given substance under
the same experimental conditions. The Rf value itself
is unit less.
Thin Layer Chromatography plant pigments, this is the simplest way to
 Thin layer chromatography (TLC) identify and quantify major pigments in a given
is an easy, convenient and sample.
inexpensive way to determine  Fluorescence spectroscopy: with adjustable
how many components wavelength settings, this method allows
 It can be used to identify the targeted detection of pigments by selective
components as well. excitation.
Paper Chromatography  How do you separate leaf pigments?
 Chromatography technique that  Although a leaf is a mixture of these pigments,
uses paper sheets or strips as you can separate the colors using a method
the adsorbent being the called paper chromatography. This process
stationary phase through which a solution is made to dissolves the pigments and allows them to be
pass is called paper chromatography. absorbed by a strip of paper.
 It is an inexpensive method of separating dissolved  What are the 4 types of plant pigments?
chemical substances by their different migration rates  Plant pigments are classified into four main
across the sheets of paper. categories: chlorophylls, anthocyanins,
 It is a powerful analytical tool that uses very small carotenoids, and betalains.
quantities of material.
 The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1952 was awarded jointly
to Archer John Porter Martin and Richard Laurence
Millington Synge "for their invention of partition
chromatography."

Plant pigment Chromatography

 Chromatography technique that uses paper sheets or
strips as the adsorbent being the stationary phase
through which a solution is made to pass is called paper
chromatography.
 It is an inexpensive method of separating dissolved
chemical substances by their different migration rates
across the sheets of paper.
 It is a powerful analytical tool that uses very small
quantities of material. Paper chromatography was
discovered by Synge and Martin in the year 1943.
 Plant pigments are macromolecules produced by the
plant, and these pigments absorb specified wavelengths
of visible light to provide the energy required for
photosynthesis.
 Chlorophyll is necessary for photosynthesis, but
accessory pigments collect and transfer energy to
chlorophyll.
 chlorophylls (greens)
• carotenoids (yellow, orange red) Calculating the Rf
• anthocyanins (red to blue, depending on pH)  Substances can be identified by the heights they reach
• betalains (red or yellow) on the completed chromatogram by calculating Rf (rate
of flow or retention factor) values.
 The Rf value is a constant for a given substance under
the same experimental conditions. The Rf value may be
calculated from the following equation.
 The Rf value itself is unit less.

The Separation of the Bands

 The separation of the bands indicates the solubility of
the pigment on the solvent or combination of solvents.
 The farther the distance traveled by a pigment
 How do you identify plant pigments? indicates that it is more soluble on the used solvent,
 Absorbance spectroscopy: based on while the shorter the distance traveled by a pigment
differential absorbance spectra of different
signifies that it is less soluble on thesolvent used for
the process.
 EXPERIMENT #10  Assertion: In refining of the crude oil,
DISTILLATION OF ETHANOL the hydrocarbons with the highest boiling
points condense first and get collected near the
Distillation
base of the fractionating tower.
 taking the fermented ethanol and water mixture and
adding heat to separate them
 Since ethanol evaporates faster than water, the
ethanol rises through a tube, collects and condenses
into another container.

Simple Distillation
 involves heating the liquid mixture to the boiling point
and immediately condensing the resulting vapors.
 This method is only effective for mixtures wherein the
boiling points of the liquids are considerably different
(a minimum difference of 25oC).
 The purity of the distillate (the purified liquid) is Anti-bumping granules

governed by Raoult’s law.

• Anti-bumping granules are
small pieces of silica;
broken unglazed pottery
works as well.
• This provides a nucleus on
which gas bubbles grow, therefore avoiding the sudden
production of large gas bubbles which can lead to
Fractional Distillation
‘bumping’.
 Process by which components in a chemical mixture are
• How it works?
separated into different parts (called fractions)
 Vapors from a boiling solution are passed along a
according to their
tall column, called a fractionating column.
different boiling
 The column is packed with plastic or glass beads to
points.
improve the separation by providing more surface
 Used to purify
area for condensation and evaporation.
chemicals and to
 The temperature of the column gradually
separate mixtures
decreases along its length.
to obtain their
 Components with a higher boiling point condense on
components.
the column and return to the solution; components
with a lower boiling point (more volatile) pass
Fractional Distillation of Crude Oil through the column and are collected near the top.
• Fractional distillation is the process by  Theoretically, having more beads or plates
which oil refineries separate crude oil into different, improves the separation, but adding plates also
more useful hydrocarbon products based on their increases the time and energy required to
relative molecular weights in a distillation tower. complete a distillation.
 This is the first step in the processing of 1. What is the boiling point of ethanol and water?
crude oil, and it is considered to be the main  The boiling point of ethanol is 78.5 °C.
separation process as it performs the initial  The boiling point of water is 100 °C.
rough separation of the different fuels. 2. Explain why anti-bumping granules are place in
the mixture?
 The different components that are separated
• Anti-bumping granules are placed in the mixture to
out during this process are known as fractions.
prevent the phenomenon known as "bumping". This
 Fractions that are separated out phenomenon is simply the sudden appearance of vapor
include gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and bitumen bubbles in the high temperature liquid which causes
• Bitumen is a low-grade of crude oil which is composed upwards spatter of the liquid, and in some cases, even
of complex, heavy hydrocarbons. result in the breakage of the distillation flask itself.

Diagram of a fractional
distillation tower, showing
where the different fractions
will condense. Note that the
temperature is higher at the
bottom, so the longer carbon
chains will fall out at the
bottom, the shorter carbon
chains will go up the column
until they hit a temperature at which they become liquid.

• Which fraction gets condensed first in fractionating

tower of crude?
 EXPERIMENT #11
SOLUBILITY OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS

Solubility
• quantitative expression of the amount of solute which
goes into a specified volume of solvent at a given
temperature.
• degree to which a substance dissolves in a solvent to
make a solution
• The amount is expressed in terms of the number of
moles.
• A substance with a solubility of 0.1 mole/liter of
solvent is described as soluble.
• Those with solubilities below 0.001 mole/liter are said
to be very slightly soluble.
• Solubility varies with the nature of the solute and the
solvent and changes in temperature and pressure.

Solubility Test

• Organic compounds follow three interdependent rules

of solubility:
1. small organic molecules are more soluble in water
than are large organic molecules;
2. polar organic molecules, especially those capable
of hydrogen bonding, are more soluble in water
than are nonpolar molecules; and
3. compounds in their ionic forms are more soluble in
water than their neutral forms.
• For example, benzoic acid is not soluble in water, yet it
is soluble in sodium hydroxide solution and in sodium
hydrogen carbonate solution because these bases react
with benzoic acid to form the water-soluble benzoate
ion.
• The solubility of carboxylic acids and amines is so
characteristic that solubility tests alone differentiate
these functional groups from all the others in this
experiment.

Solubility test in Water

• Small, polar organic compounds such as alcohols,
aldehydes, ketones, amines, carboxylic acids, and a few
phenols are soluble in water. Water-soluble compounds
are tested with pH paper to see if they are acidic or

basic. A pH of 4 or lower indicates a carboxylic acid. A

pH of 8 or higher indicates an amine.
• Water-insoluble compounds are tested with 5% sodium
hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO3) to determine whether
or not they are carboxylic acids. Carboxylic acids react
 with NaHCO3 to produce carbon dioxide bubbles, as
shown below in Equation 3.
Solubility in 5% Hydrochloric Acid
• Water-insoluble compounds that are insoluble in 5%
NaOH are tested with 5% hydrochloric acid (HCl). If a
compound is soluble in 5% HCl, it is an amine. Amines
are organic bases that react with HCl to form water-
soluble amine salts, as shown in Equation 4.

• Large alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, amines, carboxylic

acids, and phenols are not soluble in water. Alkanes,
alkyl halides, and alkenes are not soluble in water,
regardless of their size. These water- insoluble
compounds are tested for their solubility in the
following reagents.
 5% Sodium Hydroxide Solubility test in Concentrated Sulfuric Acid
 5% Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate • Water-insoluble compounds that are insoluble in 5%
 5% Hydrochloric Acid HCl are tested with concentrated sulfuric acid (H2SO4).
 Concentrated Sulfuric Acid Virtually all organic compounds containing alkene
functional groups or oxygen or nitrogen atoms are
soluble in concentrated H2SO4. These functional
groups typically react with H2SO4 to form new
compounds. Only alkanes, alkyl halides, and some
aromatic compounds are insoluble in H2SO4.

Solubility test in 5% Sodium Hydroxide Data and Results

• Water-insoluble compounds are first tested with 5%

sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Sodium hydroxide is a
strong base that ionizes strong or weak acids(Figure 2
Solubility flowchart). Thus, both carboxylic acids and
phenols are converted to salts and dissolve in aqueous
solution. Non-acidic compounds will not dissolve. The
reactions of carboxylic acids and phenols are shown in
Equations 1 and 2, respectively.

Solubility Test in 5% Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate

• Water-insoluble compounds that are soluble in 5%
NaOH are then tested with 5% sodium hydrogen
carbonate (NaHCO3). Strongly acidic compounds such
as carboxylic acids react with NaHCO3 to form water-
soluble salts, as shown in Equation 3. The reaction also
produces bubbles of carbon dioxide (CO2).
• This test is commonly misinterpreted because CO2
bubbles are tiny. Careful observation is essential.
• Phenols are less acidic than carboxylic acids and do not
react with NaHCO3 to form water-soluble salts. As a
result, phenols are insoluble in 5% NaHCO3
 EXPERIMENT #12 compound. If the melting point of two
MELTING POINT DETERMINATION pure samples shows a clear difference in
melting points, it indicates that the two
Introduction compounds must have different structural
• The melting point of a solid is defined as the arrangements. or they must have
temperature at which the liquid and solid phases are in different arrangements of atoms or
equilibrium. configurations. If two materials have the
• The freezing point of a liquid is the same same melting point, then they may (not
temperature as the melting point of its solid. However, necessarily) have the same structure.
freezing points are rarely measured in practice  Consider the isomers n-butanol and t-
because they are more difficult to determine. butanol. Both have the same molecular
 One reason for this is that solidification may formula (C4 H10O), but differ in their
not occur at the correct temperature due to structure
the phenomenon of supercooling.
 Supercooling occurs when a liquid is cooled
below its freezing point.

The Theory
• Determination of the temperature at which the solid
and liquid phases of a substance are in equilibrium is
tedious and time consuming; it is also quite difficult
2. Force of attraction between molecules
with a small amount of sample. Thus, in practice, most
 The force of attraction between the
melting points are determined as capillary melting
molecules affects the melting point of a
points, which can be done quickly with a small amount of
compound. Stronger intermolecular
sample in a capillary tube. interactions result in higher melting points.
• A capillary melting point is defined as the Ionic compounds usually have high melting
temperature range over which a small amount of solid points because the electrostatic forces
in a thin walled capillary tube first visibly softens holding the ions (ion-ion interaction) are
(first drop of liquid) and then completely liquefies. much stronger. In organic compounds the
presence of polarity, or especially
• A solid is said to melt sharply if the melting point
hydrogen bonding, generally leads to
range is 0.5 - 1.0 oC (narrow melting point range). A
higher melting point.
pure solid will generally melt sharply because the
forces of attraction between its particles are the same.
• However, the presence of a foreign particle in a crystal
lattice interrupts its uniform structure and the forces
of attraction are weakened.
• An impure solid melts at a lower temperature and over
a wider range. Thus, a solid's melting point is useful not
only as an aid in identification but also as an indication
of purity.
• What is the importance of knowing the melting point
of organic compounds? • The only force of attraction between butane molecules
is weak Van der Waals force of attraction, so it has
 The melting point is an important physical
very low melting point.
property of a compound. The melting point can
be used to identify a substance and as an
indication of its purity. The melting point of
solid is defined as the temperature at which
the solid exists in equilibrium with its liquid
under an external pressure of one atmosphere.
 A pure crystalline compound usually possesses
a sharp melting point and it melts completely • But in the case of methyl propionate, because of the
over a narrow range of temperature of not presence of polar C – O group, the molecules are held
more that 0.5-1oC. The presence of even small together by dipole-dipole interaction. Therefore, its
amount of impurities usually produces a melting point is greater than that of butane.
depression in the freezing points and shows a
marked increase in the width of the melting
point range. The melting point range of > 5oC
indicates that the substance is impure. For a
material whose identity is known, an estimate
of degree of purity can be made by comparing • In the case of butyric acid, the molecules are held
its melting point with that of a pure sample together by hydrogen bonding, so it has a higher
melting point.
Factors that Affect the Melting Point
1. Size of the Molecule
 Melting point is also used for the
identification and characterization of a
• The melting point of sodium butanoate is higher than
that of butyric acid because the attractive force in
sodium butanoate is strong ionic interaction.

• Similar to alcohols, phenols have hydroxyl groups that

can participate in intermolecular hydrogen bonding; in
fact, phenols tend to form stronger hydrogen bonds
than alcohols.

Data and Results

 EXPERIMENT #13
BOILING POINT DETERMINATION

Introduction

• Boiling point is the temperature at which the vapor

pressure of the liquid becomes equal to the
atmospheric pressure exerted upon the liquid’s surface,
causing the liquid to "boil" or change to the gas phase.
• For purposes of this laboratory experiment, the boiling
point of an organic liquid is the temperature range
over which the state of the organic compound changes
from the liquid phase to the gas phase at 760mm of
pressure.
• While the boiling point is a characteristic physical
property of a compound, many compounds may have the
same boiling point.
• The molecules of compounds that exist in the liquid
state are relatively close together, compared with
molecules of gaseous compounds.
• The close proximity of molecules in the liquid state
allow these molecules to interact via non-covalent
interactions (dipole-dipole, H-bonding, van der
Waals forces).

The Theory

• The temperature at which a pure organic substance

Data and Results
changes from the liquid phase to the gas phase is
known as the boiling point.
• A liquid's boiling point can be determined using the
capillary method, where an inverted capillary is placed
in the liquid of interest and the liquid is heated.
• As the temperature increases, the air in the capillary
escapes and is replaced by the vapor of the liquid.
• The vapor pressure in the capillary increases with
temperature.
• Once it exceeds the atmospheric pressure, the vapor
escapes the capillary in a stream of bubbles.
• When the heat is removed, the liquid cools, and the
vapor pressure in the capillary decreases.
• When the vapor pressure reaches the atmospheric
pressure, the liquid begins to fill the capillary. The
temperature at which this occurs is the boiling point.
• The boiling point of an organic substance is
directly related to its structure, where stronger
intramolecular forces result in a higher boiling
point as molecules are able to hold onto each other
and remain in the liquid phase longer.
• The higher boiling point for ethanol is observed
due to the OH structure that causes hydrogen
bonding between the molecules.
• Acetone has a polar CO double bond, which results
in dipole-dipole forces.
• Since hydrogen bonding is stronger than dipole-
dipole forces, ethanol has a higher boiling point.
• Additionally, ethanol has a lower molecular weight
than acetone. However, molecular weight has less
of an impact on the boiling point than the molecular
structure.
• For example, butane is a gas at room temperature
and pressure, as it has a boiling point lower than
25°C. Ethanol has a slightly lower molecular mass
than butane, but it is liquid at room temperature
and, therefore, has a boiling point higher than
room temperature. This is due to the hydrogen
bonding between the ethanol molecules, which is
stronger than the van der Waals forces between
the butane molecules.
• What is the purpose of boiling point
determination?
 the boiling point is considered as a
criterion of purity of a compound and
 is useful for identification of organic
compounds. Similar to the melting point
the boiling point may be sharp or may vary
over a temperature range. Pure liquids
have sharp boiling points while mixtures
show a boiling point range.
• How do you determine boiling point
experimentally?
 A liquid's boiling point can be determined
using the capillary method, where an
inverted capillary is placed in the liquid of
interest and the liquid is heated. As the
temperature increases, the air in the
capillary escapes and is replaced by the
vapor of the liquid.
• What are the factors that may attribute to the
boiling point measurement result / experimental
error?
 Errors in the boiling point measurement
can be attributed to many experimental
errors, such as heating the water bath too
rapidly, or poor alignment of the
thermometer and sample.
• What are the factors that may attribute to the
boiling point measurement result / experimental
error?

• Why is boiling point important in experiment?

 The boiling point of a substance is a useful
physical property for the
characterization of pure compounds. ...
This temperature should remain constant
as each distillate is being condensed, and
actually represents the boiling point of
this chemical.