Lab 9: Isolation of Citral from Lemongrass Oil

Question 1

What compound is likely to move through a nonpolar GC column the quickest?

Answer 1

butyraldehyde

Question 2

The amount of sample typically injected into a GC column is

Answer 2

1-2 ul

Question 3

What is the function of the diethyl ether used in the experiment?

Answer 3

the ether is the extraction solvent

Question 4

What is the function of the calcium chloride used in the experiment?

Answer 4

a drying agent

Question 5

How many grams of lemon grass oil did you begin with if citral comprises 9.44% of the oil?

Answer 5

2.75g

Question 6

Assume the starting volume of lemon grass oil (density is 1.254 g/mL) you used was 3.84 mL of citral composed of 17.3% of the lemon grass. How many grams of citral were present?

Answer 6

0.755g

Question 7

The two isomers of citral are

Answer 7

neral and geranial

Question 8

What would you expect when comparing the boiling points of the two citral isomers?

Answer 8

they would have different boiling points because they are diastereomers