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Question

Why is a solution of potassium hydroxide used to absorb carbon dioxide evolved during the estimation of carbon present in an organic compound?

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Solution

Carbon dioxide is acidic in nature and potassium hydroxide is a strong base. Hence, carbon dioxide reacts with potassium hydroxide to form potassium carbonate and water as
2KOH+CO2K2CO3+H2O
Thus, the mass of the U-tube containing KOH increases. This increase in the mass of U-tube gives the mass of CO2 produced. From its mass, the percentage of carbon in the organic compound can be estimated.


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