Question

Which among the following is a dehydrating agent for sucrose?

• A. $NaCl$
• B. $Ca(OH{)}_2$
• C. $H_{2}S{O}_4$
• D. $CaC{O}_3$

Answer 1

The correct option is C $H_{2}S{O}_4$

$H_{2}S{O}_4$ is the dehydrating agent that can dehydrate sugar to form products such as carbon, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and water.

$C_{12}{H}_{22}{O}_{11}\left(s\right)+H_{2}S{O}_4\left(aq\right)+\frac{1}{2}{O}_2\left(g\right)\to 11C\left(s\right)+C{O}_2\left(g\right)+12H_{2}O\left(g\right)+S{O}_2\left(g\right)$
This reaction is accompanied by an increase in temperature and copious amounts of smoke made up of carbon dioxide gas, sulfur dioxide and water vapor.
This reaction is very exothermic and produces poisonous gas (sulphur dioxide). The net result of this reaction is the complete dehydration of the sucrose.