Explain the purpouse of reflux in the oxidation of ethanol to ethanoic acid
Reflux apparatus is when a distillation tube is surrounded by an apparatus that pumps cold water around it in order to condense its compounds in the mixture
As ethanol has a low boiling point, it evaporates fairly quickly.This means some of the ethanol may escape before it has been fully oxidised ino a carboxylic acid. Reflux therefore allows ethanol to be condensed back into liquid form to ensure all of the reactants are used up in the reaction. This will help increase the yield of ethanoic acid.
MA
Related Chemistry A Level answers
All answers ▸How can you tell if a reaction is endothermic or exothermic? Describe a way of determining if a reaction is exothermic or endothermic using simple laboratory equipment.
Explain what the rate-determining step in a reaction is with reference to activation energy.
A 1000 cm3 container of ammonia (NH3) has a mass of 20.7g, it is stored at room temperature (298 K). When empty the container has a mass of 20.0 g, calculate the pressure inside the container in kPa to an appropriate number of significant figures.
How would you work out the mols of a substance?