AQA · Chemistry · 8462

GCSE Chemistry (AQA): Distillation

Topic 1 — Atomic Structure & the Periodic Table. Generated from the caption track of Cognito's lesson video "GCSE Chemistry - Distillation - Simple & Fractional Distillation (2027/28 exams)"; each card deep-links to the moment in the video it came from. Lesson 1.07 of Cognito's AQA GCSE Combined Science (Trilogy) and Chemistry course (Higher tier), filed under AQA Chemistry 8462. Teaching by Cognito — https://cognitoedu.org/coursesubtopic/c2-gcse-aqa-h-c_1.07.

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  1. Because a fractionating column is so tall, the top of it is ? than the bottom.

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    cooler

  2. What is the approximate boiling point of ethanol?

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    About 78 °C.

  3. Which separation technique separates a liquid from a solution, e.g. pure water from seawater?

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    Simple distillation.

  4. What happens to higher-boiling-point vapours that rise up the fractionating column?

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    They meet surfaces cooler than their boiling point, condense, and run back down into the flask.

  5. Why is the distillation flask sealed with a bung?

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    So that no gases can escape — the vapour is forced down into the condenser instead.

  6. The main technique used to separate a mixture of miscible liquids is ? distillation.

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    fractional

  7. What is the purpose of the water jacket around a condenser?

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    Cold water flows continuously through it, cooling the vapour so it condenses back into a liquid.

  8. In simple distillation of seawater, what remains in the flask at the end?

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    Salt — only the water evaporates and is collected as pure distilled water.

  9. Why can simple distillation not separate a mixture of methanol, ethanol and propanol?

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    Their boiling points are too similar, so more than one liquid evaporates at the same time.

  10. What extra piece of apparatus does fractional distillation use that simple distillation does not?

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    A fractionating column, placed between the flask and the condenser.

  11. In fractional distillation, which liquid is collected first?

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    The one with the lowest boiling point, because it evaporates at the lowest temperature.

  12. Why is a fractionating column filled with small glass rods?

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    They provide a very high surface area for vapours to condense on.

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