A student is preparing and purifying a sample of 2-chloro-2-methylpropane (boiling point 51∘C51^\circ\text{C}51∘C, density 0.84 g cm-3) by reacting 2-methylpropan-2-ol with concentrated hydrochloric acid.
Which statement about the purification of the crude product is correct?
The organic product is found in the lower layer of the separating funnel during the washing steps because halogenated organic compounds are denser than water.
The crude organic layer is washed with aqueous sodium hydroxide to neutralize residual hydrochloric acid before drying.
Anhydrous calcium chloride is a suitable drying agent to remove remaining traces of water from the organic layer.
Concentrated sulfuric acid can be added directly to the separating funnel to dry the product and catalyze any unreacted alcohol.
26 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Chemistry Amines (A-level only), covering Preparation (A-level only), Base properties (A-level only), and Nucleophilic properties (A-level only). Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.