Fractional Distillation Lab Report

Fractional distillation was used in this experiment. This is one of two ways for distillation, the other being simple distillation. However, with a simple distillation, the difference of boiling points between the substances must be more than 40 to 50 degrees C. A fractional distillation column is needed in a fractional distillation. The column in a fractional distillation column provides a temperature gradient where the temperature is lower at the top of the column and the temperature is greater at the bottom at the column. In the first step, the unknown solution was added to a round bottom flask with a stir bar. The reason the stir bar was needed, was because the solution would not boil evenly if it was not being mixed while it was heated.
The thermometer was placed at the very bottom of the sidearm of the distillation head. The reason it was placed at that exact location was to get an accurate reading of the temperature of the boiling solution. When collecting the solutions, falcon tubes were used instead as they could provide much more accurate readings when compared to round bottom flasks. Keck clamps were used throughout the experiment to make sure the apparatus did not fall apart while in use. For the next step of the experiment gas chromatography was used to analyze the samples. In gas chromatography, it puts the solution into two separate phases, the mobile (non-polar) and the stationary (polar) phase. The mobile phase is where the solution is carried by an inert gas, in this case helium, through a column that is heated. For gas chromatography, the 3 tubes of solution that we received were individually tested to determine its composition. Next, we created a solution of tube A mixed with acetone and tested it through gas chromatography. The reason this was done, is because if tube A really did contain acetone the tallest peak on the gas chromatography results would be at the position for acetone but only