Which oxide of phosphorus is used extensively as a drying agent?

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Solution

Drying agent
A drying agent is a chemical that removes water from a solution of an organic molecule.
Sulfuric acid concentrated phosphoric acid and hot aluminum oxide are commonly used as drying agents.
Phosphorus pentoxide
The acidic oxide of phosphorus is phosphorus pentoxide $(P_{2} O_{5})$ .
Phosphorus pentoxide is a powerful drying agent.
It is employed as a desiccating and dehydrating agent because it is a phosphoric anhydride.

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Calcium oxide and phosphorus pentoxide are very good drying agents but they are not used to dry HCl gas. Give reasons for each.

(a) Draw a labelled diagram for the laboratory preparation of hydrogen chloride gas.
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Which oxide of phosphorus is used extensively as a drying agent?

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