A student by chance mixed acetone with alcohol. This mixture of acetone and lcohol can be seperated by

Options

A. filtration
B. separating funnel
C. fractional crystallisation
D. fractional distillation

Explanation

To separate a mixture of acetone and alcohol, we can use the process of fractional distillation. Here’s a step-by-step explanation of how this works:

### Step 1: Understand the Components
- **Acetone** is a ketone, which has the structure R-C(=O)-R. It has a relatively low boiling point.
- **Alcohol** (for example, ethanol) has the structure R-OH and exhibits hydrogen bonding, resulting in a higher boiling point compared to acetone.

### Step 2: Identify Boiling Points
- Acetone has a boiling point of about 56 °C.
- Ethanol has a boiling point of about 78 °C.
- The significant difference in boiling points indicates that they can be separated by distillation.

### Step 3: Set Up Fractional Distillation
- In fractional distillation, a mixture is heated in a distillation apparatus.
- As the mixture heats up, the component with the lower boiling point (acetone) will evaporate first.

### Step 4: Collect the Distillate
- The vapor of acetone rises through the fractionating column and is condensed back into liquid form in the condenser.
- The liquid acetone is collected separately, while the alcohol remains in the distillation flask.

### Step 5: Complete the Separation
- Continue heating until most of the acetone has evaporated.
- The remaining liquid will primarily consist of alcohol.

### Final Answer
The mixture of acetone and alcohol can be separated by **fractional distillation**.

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