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Chemistry Matters for GCE ‘O’ Level (2 Edition): Full Solutions to Textbook Questions Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Separation and Purification

Test Yourself 3.1 and 3.2 (page 39)

1. (a) Filtration
(b) Crystallisation, then filtration

2. Filtration

3. Strong heating is often used when evaporating a solution; this may cause some substances to
decompose.
Some substances such as hydrated salts give off water to become powders when heated.
During evaporation, any soluble impurities present will be left together with the solute. [Any two]

Test Yourself 3.3 (page 41)

1. Crush the sugarcane in hot water to dissolve the sugar. Filter and heat the solution until it is
saturated. Leave it to cool; sugar crystals will form on cooling.

2. Add hot water to the soil. Filter the mixture while it is still hot. Allow the filtrate to cool and potassium
nitrate will crystallise.

Test Yourself 3.4 and 3.5 (page 47)

1. A

2. Simple distillation. The colour of the ink would darken as water distils over and the remaining mixture
gets more concentrated.

3. (a) She is wrong. While both techniques involve using a condenser to condense the vapour, only
simple distillation requires a distillation flask. A round-bottomed flask is used in fractional
distillation.
(b) She is correct. Simple distillation is used to separate a pure solvent from a solution, not a solute
from a solvent.
(c) She is correct. Fractional distillation is usually used to separate liquids with boiling points that are
close together.
(d) She is wrong. The liquid with the lowest boiling point distils over first.

Test Yourself 3.6 (page 52)

1. The food colouring contains red and blue dyes. Thus, it should be purple in colour.

2. No. The substance would dissolve to a different degree in a different solvent. Thus, the distance
travelled by the substance up the chromatogram would vary with respect to the solvent, causing a
change in its Rf value.

Test Yourself 3.7 (page 55)

1. A

2. Y is impure ethanoic acid. Impurities lower its melting point from 17°C to 15°C and increase its boiling
point from 118°C to 121°C.

3. Z is B. Mixture Z + B melts at almost the same temperature as B.

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Chemistry Matters for GCE ‘O’ Level (2 Edition): Full Solutions to Textbook Questions Chapter 3

Get it Right (page 57)

(a) False. Boiled tap water is a mixture.

(b) False. When a mixture is filtered, the solid left on the filter paper is called the residue. The solution
that passes through the filter paper is called the filtrate.
(c) False. During crystallisation, a solution is heated until enough water has boiled off to form a hot
saturated solution.
(d) True
(e) False. In simple distillation, the bulb of the thermometer should be placed beside the side arm of the
distillation flask to ensure that the thermometer measures the boiling point of the substance that is
being distilled.
(f) True
(g) False. When oil and water are shaken together, they appear to mix, but in fact they form an
emulsion, which eventually separates into different layers of liquids. These can be separated using
a separating funnel.
(h) False. Chromatography is used to separate the dyes present in ink.
(i) False. Impurities lower the melting point of a solid, but increase the boiling point of a liquid.

Let’s Review (pages 57–59)

Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions

1. D 2. A 3. B 4. C 5. D 6. B

Section B: Structured Questions

1. (a)

thermometer

water out

fractionating
column condenser

glass beads
water in

round-bottomed distillate
flask

boiling chips
propanone
+ ethanol
+ water

(b) Propanone. It has the lowest boiling point.

(c) Fractional distillation of liquid air or petroleum (crude oil).

2. Add ethanol and stir to dissolve the sugar. Filter the resulting mixture. Salt would be left on filter
paper. Leave the filtrate to stand uncovered in a fume hood to allow the ethanol solvent to evaporate.
Sugar would be left behind after all the ethanol has evaporated.

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Chemistry Matters for GCE ‘O’ Level (2 Edition): Full Solutions to Textbook Questions Chapter 3

3. (a) Soups are soluble in water.

(b) So that the spots of soups under test do not dissolve in the solvent (water) before the experiment
starts.
(c) X
(d) Yes. Soup Z contains E120, E124 and E162, which are safe.
(e) X and Z

Section C: Free-Response Question

1. Add nitric acid to the mixture and stir until all the copper(II) oxide has just dissolved. Filter the
resulting mixture; sand and iodine will be left on the filter paper. Leave the filter paper to dry. Place
the mixture of sand and iodine in an evaporating dish and separate as shown in the following figure:

funnel

solidified iodine

wet cloth to cool

iodine vapour

mixture of iodine
and sand
heat

Heat the filtrate (copper(II) nitrate solution) in an evaporating dish until all the water has evaporated.
Place the evaporating dish in a fume cupboard and heat until no more nitrogen dioxide is given off (no
brown fumes). Copper(II) oxide will be left on the evaporating dish.

Chemistry Today (page 60)

(a) Both diffusion and osmosis involve the movement of particles due to a difference in concentration.

(b) The processes of obtaining drinking water by desalination and NEWater both involve reverse
osmosis. However, to obtain NEWater, the wastewater has to be filtered first before reverse
osmosis is carried out. The treated water is then disinfected with UV light. NEWater is obtained from
wastewater whereas desalinated water is obtained from seawater.

(c) (i) Until a decade ago, Singapore had only two sources of water — reservoirs and water from
Malaysia. NEWater serves as an important source of water that enables Singapore to be self-
sufficient. NEWater has proven that wastewater can be recycled into clean and safe drinking
water. With NEWater, Singapore is seen as a leader in innovative water technology.
(ii) Social impact: There may be insecurity within the country due to the lack of self-reliance in
meeting its water needs.
Economic impact: There may be a shortage of drinking water, which may result in increasing
prices of water and hence costs of living in Singapore. Lack of reliable supplies of water may
lead to a decrease in confidence of foreign investors, which will lead to a slowdown in
Singapore’s economic growth.

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