Activity Number 274

	Overview and Learning Objectives
	Assessment
	Central Concepts
	Benchmarks and Standards
	Extensions and Connections
	Activity Credits
	Requirements

Distillation and the Role of Weak Forces

Interactive model, with minimal support

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Java 1.5+ - Java 1.5+ is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X 10.4 and greater. If you are using Mac OS X 10.3, you can download MW Version 1.3 and explore within it instead.

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	Overview and Learning Objectives Substances in solution have different van der Waals attractions for each other and they can be separated and retrieved independently by the process of distillation that uses this principle of differential "stickiness." In this activity students manipulate temperature and "stickiness" in order to model effective distillation, which is an important technique for water purification and many industrial processes. Students will be able to: compare the separation of different substances in mixtures and explain why some are easier to separate than others; experiment with model variables such as strength of van der Waals attractions, temperature, and composition of mixtures to see the impact on distillate. return to top



	Assessment Performance assessment in MW: http://www.concord.org/~barbara/workbench_web/models/jnlps/Distillationassess1.jnlp PDF file for print assessment: http://www.concord.org/~barbara/workbench_web/pdf/Distillation_Assess10.pdf PDF file assessment RUBRIC http://www.concord.org/~barbara/workbench_web/pdf/distillation_rubric_8_07.pdf return to top



	Central Concepts Key Concept: Substances in solution can be separated and retrieved independently by the process of distillation. Additional Related Concepts Physics/Chemistry Solutions Van der Waals return to top



	Benchmarks and Standards AAAS THE PHYSICAL SETTING: ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS - Different energy levels are associated with different configurations of atoms and molecules (Full Text of Standard) THE PHYSICAL SETTING: ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS - Transformations of energy usually produce some energy in the form of heat, which spreads around by radiation or conduction into cooler places (Full Text of Standard) NSES Physical-Science: Matter Structure/Properties - 4 The physical properties of compounds reflect the nature of the interactions (Full Text of Standard) return to top



	Extensions and Connections Mass is not a factor in distillation, but if students want to be convinced that it is not, they can go to the activity Atomic Mass and Boiling Point (http://molo.concord.org/database/activities/275.html). return to top



	Activity Credits Created by CC: Molecular Literacy using Molecular Workbench return to top



	Requirements Java 1.5+ - Java 1.5+ is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X 10.4 and greater. If you are using Mac OS X 10.3, you can download MW Version 1.3 and explore within it instead. return to top

These materials are based upon work supported by the
National Science Foundation under grant number DUE-0402553

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions
or recommendations expressed in this material are those of
the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views
of the National Science Foundation.

Distillation and the Role of Weak Forces

Overview and Learning Objectives

Assessment

Central Concepts

Additional Related Concepts

Benchmarks and Standards

Extensions and Connections

Activity Credits

Requirements