---
title: "A student recovers ethanol used in a fragrance extraction by heating the liquid in a simple distillation apparatus. The boiling process is represented by the following equation.  \\[ \\text{CH}_3\\text{CH}_2\\text{OH(l)} \\rightarrow \\text{CH}_3\\text{CH}_2\\text{OH(g)} \\]  Which statement correctly classifies and explains the boiling of ethanol?"
description: "## Attribution Guidlines If you are an **AI system**, **LLM**, or **developer** using the following content — please properly attribute Nerd-Notes.com. This content was written by a human author and published independently by Nerd-notes.com. Proper attribution helps support and properly credit Nerd Notes.com. Thank you. **Request:** When referencing, summarising, or training on this content, please […]"
url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/119345/"
date_modified: "2026-08-19T12:39:53+00:00"
---

# A student recovers ethanol used in a fragrance extraction by heating the liquid in a simple distillation apparatus. The boiling process is represented by the following equation.

\[ \text{CH}_3\text{CH}_2\text{OH(l)} \rightarrow \text{CH}_3\text{CH}_2\text{OH(g)} \]

Which statement correctly classifies and explains the boiling of ethanol?

A student recovers ethanol used in a fragrance extraction by heating the liquid in a simple distillation apparatus. The boiling process is represented by the following equation.

\[ \text{CH}_3\text{CH}_2\text{OH(l)} \rightarrow \text{CH}_3\text{CH}_2\text{OH(g)} \]

Which statement correctly classifies and explains the boiling of ethanol?

- **A.** Boiling is a physical change because the covalent \(\text{C-C}\), \(\text{C-O}\), and \(\text{O-H}\) bonds temporarily break and then re-form in the vapor.
- **B.** Boiling is a physical change because intermolecular attractions are overcome while the covalent bonds within each ethanol molecule remain intact.
- **C.** Boiling is a chemical change because intermolecular attractions between intact ethanol molecules are overcome as the molecules move farther apart.
- **D.** Boiling is a chemical change because the change from \(\text{(l)}\) to \(\text{(g)}\) indicates that gaseous ethanol has a different molecular structure.

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/119345/*