Which process would best separate a solution of liquid water and liquid rubbing alcohol?

• A. Filtration
• B. Chromatography
• C. Floatation
• D. Distillation

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the components of the mixture: liquid water and liquid rubbing alcohol form a homogeneous liquid solution.
2. Understand the nature of the mixture: since both components are liquids and completely mixed, physical separation methods like filtration or floatation won't work because they separate based on particle size or density differences in heterogeneous mixtures.
3. Consider chromatography: it is typically used to separate components of mixtures based on their different affinities to a stationary phase and a mobile phase, often for small amounts or complex mixtures, but it is not practical for separating bulk liquid mixtures like water and alcohol.
4. Recognize that distillation separates liquids based on differences in their boiling points by heating the mixture to vaporize the component with the lower boiling point first, then condensing the vapor back into liquid form.
5. Conclude that distillation is the best method to separate liquid water and rubbing alcohol because it exploits their different boiling points to achieve separation.