Solution:
Concept- A cooling device used in the distillation process is a condenser. Distillation is a method of separation that divides two liquids according to the difference in their respective boiling points.The liquid with a lower boiling point boils and rises to the surface as vapours during the distillation process, and the vapours are then cooled by condensation. Lowering the temperature of the vapours below their boiling point causes them to condense, cool, and form liquid droplets that are collected in a different flask. The distillate is the name for the liquid that results from distillation.
Based on the differences in the boiling points of the combination of liquids, we can separate and purify them using the distillation process. The distillation unit is equipped with a condenser, a condensing unit that is used to cool these vapours. In reflux reactions, where the liquid is heated for a predetermined amount of time and the vapours are continuously cooled back to the liquid state and returned to the reflux flask, the condenser is also used.
The condenser is installed to cool the vapours back to liquid droplets. We can therefore conclude that the condenser's primary function is to cool the vapours, dissipate heat to the surroundings, and collect the liquid by condensation.
Hence, the correct answer is it is used to cool the hot vapours.
