If you are camping outdoors and running short on clean water, you can obtain clean water by distillation. Can you think of a set-up with the items available to you?
To obtain clean water while camping, we can use the process of distillation. This method separates a liquid from impurities by heating the mixture until the liquid vaporises.
A simple set-up can be made using basic utensils. First, heat the impure water in a container (acting as a distillation flask). As the water boils, it turns into vapour, leaving the solid impurities behind.
Next, direct the vapours through a tube or spout that acts as a condenser. The vapours can be cooled by circulating air or by wrapping the tube with a cloth soaked in cold water. Finally, the condensed pure water is collected in a separate vessel for safe drinking.
Explanation
The textbook context describes distillation as a process where a mixture is heated until the liquid vaporises, leaving solids or other liquids behind. The vapours are then cooled in a condenser (using circulating air or water) and collected as a pure liquid in a separate vessel. The student answer effectively adapts this laboratory process to a camping scenario by improvising the distillation flask with a heating container, the condenser with a tube cooled by air or cold water, and the collection vessel for the pure water.