Fractional Distillation

During fractional distillation, a steady, slow rate of one drop every twenty to thirty seconds is necessary for the proper separation and purification of the compounds.  The thermometer of the apparatus will keep track of the temperature of the vapors as they reach the top and condense into the vial at this consistent drop rate.  While the drops are being collected, there will be one plateau of drops at one consistent temperature.  Then, a slight dip in temperature will be observed.  During this part of the distillation, the first component of the mixture has been used up and the higher boiling point substance is being vaporized.  Because of the higher boiling point, more energy is needed to achieve this explaining the dip in temperature.  This was seen in both the known mixture and the unknown mixture.  In the transition phase between the first plateau and the second plateau, the drops, if any are produced, are not pure and should be separated from the first plateau's drops and the second plateau drops to ensure two pure compounds are formed.  To continue distillation, additional heat needed to be added to both distillations.