The P Block Elements - Result Question 58
####60. It is possible to obtain oxygen from air by fractional distillation because [1989]
(a) oxygen is in a different group of the periodic table from nitrogen
(b) oxygen is more reactive than nitrogen
(c) oxygen has higher b.p. than nitrogen
(d) oxygen has a lower density than nitrogen.
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Solution:
- (c) Oxygen has higher b.pt. than nitrogen therefore it can be obtained from air by fractional distillation.
Air is liquified by making use of the joule-Thomson effect (cooling by expansion of the gas). Water vapour and $CO_2$ are removed by solidification. The remaining constituents of liquid air i.e., liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen are separated by means of fractional distillation.
