A hydrogel was prepared using following steps

About 50 ml of distilled water was introduced into a beaker and heated to 40C and then 10g of gelatin added and stirred vigorously until a homogeneous viscous mixture obtained. Afterward, 1.5 ml of epichlorohydrin as cross-linker was added dropwise under continuous stirring for 5 mins. Subsequently, this mixture was pored into the mold (petri dish) and placed in warm water bath at 80C for 1 hour to remove unreacted chemicals; the obtained hydrogel was washed with distilled water several times, and finally dried in an oven at 50C for 24 hr. Figure 1 represents the block diagram of gelatin hydrogel preparation.

Q. Please compare the hydrogel after drying for 24 hours and before drying. What change will occur to the hydrogel?

Q. Will there be any change in the gelatin solution after being placed in the water bath at 80 degrees? please give some reason