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Dehydration.
Dehydration means removing water from a substance.
Concentrated sulfuric
acid is very good at dehydration.
Example 1.
Blue copper(II)
sulfate crystals contain water.
Five water
molecules surround each copper
sulfate particle.
Concentrated sulfuric acid takes away the water molecules
and the copper sulfate
becomes white.
concentrated
blue copper(II)
sulfate
white copper(II)
sulfate
CuSO4(5H2O)
sulfuric acid
CuSO4
White copper(II) sulfate is called anhydrous and is used as a test for water.
Example 2.
Glucose is a sugar which is made in the leaves of plants
during photosynthesis.
It does not contain water molecules
but does contain hydrogen and oxygen
which are the elements of water. Glucose has the formula C6H12O6.
Concentrated sulfuric acid will take away the elements of water
from glucose leaving only carbon.
concentrated
glucose
carbon
C6H12O6
sulphuric acid
C
The water which is removed in
these examples
dissolves in the concentrated sulfuric
acid and makes it more dilute.
See also the dehydration of ethanol.
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Copyright © 2008 Dr. Colin France. All Rights Reserved.