Question

Give a balanced equation for: Dehydration of concentrated sulphuric acid with sugar crystals.

Answer 1

• $H_{2}S{O}_4$ has a great affinity for water. It readily removes elements of water from other compounds and thus acts as a dehydrating agent.
• All carbohydrates such as sugar $\left(C_{12}{H}_{22}{O}_{11}\right)$ react with $H_{2}S{O}_4$ to give a black spongy mass of carbon due to loss of water.

• Chemical reaction involved:
  $C_{12}{H}_{22}{O}_{11}\stackrel{\text{conc.}{H}_{2}S{O}_4}{\to }12C+11H_{2}O$