These ingredients accelerate the foaming action of the soda very quickly, causing the infamous explosion. We also showed that samples which encounter less viscous drag and hence fall more quickly through the soda will cause a more explosive reaction. As the Mentos candy sinks in the bottle, the candy causes the production of more and more carbon dioxide bubbles, and the rising bubbles react with carbon dioxide that is still dissolved in the soda to cause more carbon dioxide to be freed and create even more bubbles, resulting in the eruption. Science of Mentos-Diet Coke explosions explained. The majority of us have probably experimented with dropping multiple sugary, round mentos into a bottle filled to the brim with coke. Never use a stove or a microwave to heat a bottle of soda. This is an urban myth. There really arent that many supplies you need to make a mentos and coke volcano. [25] These results suggest that additives serve to enhance geyser heights not by decreasing surface tension, but rather by decreasing bubble coalescence. The longer reaction time is due to the many growth sites associated with the porous molecular sieve beads. The most striking example is the molecular sieve beads, which lost a significant amount of mass but only traveled 2.5ft. As mentioned earlier in the article, using either diet coke or regular coke alongside mentos can produce a spewing geyser of carbonation bubbles. The bottom line was that we needed to find a way to standardize the drop of those Mentos mints. So, if you want some quick and easy fun, get some paper towels becausewere about to make a sweet mess. 8:30 am 5:00 pm (MST), Steve Spangler Science Be prepared: the eruption happens quickly, so back up fast! The uncertainty of the fall times was roughly 10%. The Mythbusters correctly identified potassium benzoate and aspartame as key ingredients in the Diet CokeMentos reaction. What are the variables of the soda and Mentos experiment? Aspiring Botanists, and even young gardeners, will get excited about science with this hands-on kit. Note that the contact angles for Diet Coke and Caffeine Free Diet Coke are not very different. What happens when you mix Diet Coke and Mentos? Set up 16oz coke bottle and attach geyser tube and launch. Write down what you think will happen when placing the Mentos in the soda. students used this simple device to monitor the kinetics of Also, for the same amount of mass lost, the eruption will be more dramatic when the reaction takes place over a shorter time. Each bottle tested had a two-litre capacity, and eleven Mentos were introduced to each bottle. If the partial pressure of the gas above the liquid is higher, then more gas can be dissolved in the liquid. Test your dog's preferred diet in this fun experiment. The uncertainties are approximately 10%. Why does Diet Coke and Mentos explode more than regular Coke? Soda is made of sugar or artificial sweetener, flavoring, water and preservatives. Amazing Facts About Diet Coke And Mentos Experiment. If spectators were watching your exploits, someone is bound to yell out, Do it again! Thats exactly what youre going to do. Today Room 1 and 5 did a science experiment together. From Table III we see that higher temperatures lead to larger eruptions. Fast-moving mentos create larger explosions while slow, powdered mentos create tiny ones (Muir, 2008). Place one bottle in the refrigerator and let it sit there overnight. If you want a more specific measurement, use chalk to mark off 1-foot increments before you drop the Mentos into the bottle of soda. How does the flavor of Mentos affect the explosion? This experiment can be visually displayed with photos or videos of the event and a graph of the tables results. mentos If youre not using the Geyser Tube, make sure to come up with your own method for dropping the Mentos into the soda exactly the same way each and every time. The Mentos candy gelatin and gum arabic create an energy that breaks the surface tension of the soda. What is the independent variable in the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment? The carbon dioxide attaches throughout the bead, increasing the amount of time over which the reaction occurs. Assuming that youre using the paper tube method, youll want to load the seven Mentos into the tube, cover the bottom of the tube with your finger and position the tube directly over the mouth of the bottle. Dont forget to look back at the amazing eruption of soda. WebWhen Mentos candies are dropped into a bottle of Diet Coke, a foamy fountain jets out of the beverage container. Science teachers started experimenting (as they like to do) with other candies and mints that would have the same effect when dropped into a bottle of soda. (Compare the volcanic explosions of Mt. Mentos Geyser Experiment Mentos & Coke Experiment. The coating of the Mentos contains gum arabic, a surfactant that reduces the surface tension of water. Mentos Geyser Experiment - Mentos & Coke Experiment - The Lab Superabsorbent giant growing polymer beads that absorb 150 times their weight in water! Today Room 1 and 5 did a science experiment together. If you decide to do this experiment against a wall, be sure to thank the buildings owner and to hose off the wall of the building when you are finished. The Fruit Mentos and the Mint Mentos reaction lost roughly the same amount of mass, but the Fruit Mentos reaction took place over a shorter time and therefore the spray traveled much farther than the Mint Mentos reactions. Diet Coke 280 8.6 Conclusion: The more mentos you put in a bottle of pop does not necessarily mean a larger explosion. Longer distances traveled by the bubbles resulting in a more explosive reaction also partially explains the differences in explosive power for whole Mentos in contrast to crushed Mentos; the smaller particulates of the crushed Mentos fall through the liquid more slowly. This is because the warm air would have a greater volume and would exert more pressure, which would force the soda to a higher height. The results showed that Diet Coke created the most spectacular explosions with either fruit or mint Mentos, the fountains travelling a horizontal distance of up to 7 metres. Originally it was thought that the colossal fountain of soda spraying out of the bottle was caused by the caffeine in Coke. I must admit, however, that even with the Baby Soda Bottle method, the results were not very consistent. Stir up some enthusiasm for experimentation with this candy-cracking science experiment! The child who died from combining Mentos and Coca-Cola story is an updating of an older legend that began in 1979. The potassium benzoate and the aspartame are active ingredients in the Mint MentosDiet Coke reaction, but the aspartame likely contributes more to the reaction. Mentos and Diet Coke Experiment | Science project - Education First, we learned that the massive buildup of pressure occurs when carbonation causes bubbles to accumulate on the surface of the Mentos. We used the measured contact angle to calculate the minimum work required to form a critical bubble5 by the relation: where LV is the liquid-vapor surface tension, PP is the pressure difference across the interface, is the contact angle, and the function f() is given by. Regular Coke does not work with Mentos because the Diet Coke uses Aspartame instead of sugar, which regular Coke uses. You can also use a Baby Soda Bottle to hold the Mentos or a Geyser Tube, which was invented to solve this very problem. As strange as it might sound, the Mentos Geyser Experiment never actually started out using Mentos chewy mints. Great integration of science and literature. Conjure a magical genie inside a root beer bottle, awaken a thirsty ghost, use your amazing brainpower to read minds, and more. However, the brightly colored Mentos the Mythbusters dropped into the soda had a waxy coating added by the Mythbusters team, not the Mentos manufacturers.1. Each bottle will receive a different number of Mentos. The lack of change in the pH supports the conclusion that the Mint MentosDiet Coke reaction is not an acid-base reaction. In this case, were changing the number of Mentos dropped into each bottle, so everything else has to stay the same. Better yet, if we could trigger the drop of the Mentos from a distance, we wouldnt get as wet. SEM images of Mint Mentos [(a) and (c)] and Fruit Mentos with a candy coating [(b) and (d)]. Contact angles of various solutions on polycarbonate and the ratio of the minimum work required to form a critical bubble in the sample over the minimum work required to form a critical bubble in deionized H2O. Decreased bubble coalescence leads to smaller bubble sizes and greater foaming ability in the water. We put 4 mentos pieces into the bottle of diet coke. Within seconds of dropping the candies into the soda, a huge geyser would erupt from the bottle. This science kit seeks to challenge kids to solve problems in creative ways that will prepare them for future science classes and nurture their lifelong imagination. What are the independent and dependent variables in Coke and Mentos? [15] Amazing Toys, Spangler's toy company, released the Geyser Tube toys in February 2007. Parts of science investigatory project. Science Investigatory The enthusiasm for dropping mints into soda bottles continues to grow today. Warm soda tends to fizz much more than cold soda because of the solubility of gases in liquids. There is not always a direct correlation between the mass lost and the distance traveled for the reactions. Diet Coke and Mentos: Testing New Variables The average times were 0.7s for the Mentos, 1.0s for the rock salt and the Lifesavers, and 1.5s for the sand. Mentos Due to the popularity of the Diet CokeMentos reaction as a demonstration of key principles in physics and chemistry, we have investigated the causes of the reaction. However, is one better for use during an experiment? Mentos candies contain millions of cavities, roughly 1-3 m in size,[25][10] that remain unwetted when added to a soda. [10] When the pressure is released from a soda bottle upon opening it, dissolved carbon dioxide can escape into any tiny bubble located within the beverage. Contact angle measurements were made by placing small drops of the liquid solutions on a flat polycarbonate surface, photographing the drops, and measuring the contact angles from the photographs (see Fig. Heres the question we came up with: In an experiment popularized online, what candy creates an explosive geyser when dropped into a 2-liter Diet Coke bottle? The choice of diet over regular soda is just a preference. WebPut 5 room temp Mint Mentos in a geyser tube. They both ended up having 1 oz out of 8 oz ounces leave the beaker and into the air around too. The quantitative roughness information detailed in Table V was taken from this image. In this experiment, you will evaluate whether or not a diet that is supplemented with "brain-enhancing" foods can help improve memory. 1 So the relatively small amount of caffeine in a 2 l bottle of Coke doesnt significantly affect the reaction. Did a child really die from combining Mentos and Coca-Cola? Everyone found their own method for quickly dropping the Mentos into the soda. Do a little bit of research about the ingredients of Mentos and soda. Conclusion: The more mentos you put in a bottle of pop does not necessarily mean a larger explosion. While I had performed variations of the Mentos Geyser Experiment on television many times from 2001 to 2004, my performance of the demo in the backyard of Denvers NBC affiliate KUSA-TV in September of 2005 proved to be the tipping point. This hypothesis was also proven false as the pH of the substance did not change after the reaction (Muir, 2008). (4) next and Le Chateliers principle.6. The bubbles then act as growth sites, where the carbon dioxide still dissolved in the solution moves into the rising bubbles, causing even more liberation of carbon dioxide from the bottle. [13] The Diet Coke and Mentos geyser experiment became an internet sensation in September 2005. Then send your curated collection to your children, or put together your own custom lesson plan. While the reaction remains fairly the same regardless of what carbonated beverage you use for this experiment, diet sodas are usually more carbonated and fizzy compared to regular sodas. We found that the max amount of mentos with the largest 2008 American Association of Physics Teachers. The liquid samples, including the gum arabic, the baking sodawater mixture, and the Dawnwater mixture, were administered by injection using a 10ml syringe with an 18-gauge needle. Place the second bottle in a place where it will reach room temperature overnight. Average mass lost during the reaction. Turn from eerie green to blood red when you hold it up to the light. But there was one added bonus: the restricted hole at the top of the plastic tube helped to build up more pressure in the bottle and launched the soda up to 30 feet into the air! Each mint has thousands of tiny pits all over its surface. [7][8] Experiments carried out at altitudes ranging from below sea level in Death Valley to the summit of Pikes Peak have demonstrated that the reaction works better at higher elevations. We launched the Mentos Geyser Tube toy at the New York Toy Fair in February 2007. Today, all of that will be answered in our article down below! Fueled by hundreds of blogs and popular online sharing sites like YouTube, this once obscure reaction quickly became a sensational hands-on learning activity for young scientists. The colorful nature of this chemistry experiment kit introduces your child to basic concepts of volume, measurement and chemical reactions in a safe, no-mess way. SEM images of playground sand acquired at a beam energy of 20kV and a spot size of 5.0nm. In addition to the six outlined experiments, weve included suggestions for further fun, giving your future chemist more opportunities to learn and grow. Watch as they vanish right before your eyes in water as they grow. Steve Spanglers Geyser Tube toy (optional . What is the independent variable in the Mentos experiment? The Hypothesis. However, the importance of the presence of surfactants in the Mentos cannot be denied. Learn more about how plants work with this cool celery experiment! Metastable Liquids: Concepts and Principles. Each time, she was covered in more soda until her once-pink dress was now more Coke-colored than pink! ", "Orchestrated Chaos: A Mentos Tribute to Eepybird.com", About.com Chemistry page with instructions, "Watch Scientists Conduct the Mentos and Diet Coke Experiment at 14,000 Feet", "Diet Coke and Mentos: What is really behind this physical reaction? There are two major reasons for this discrepancy. Their surfactant properties then lower the surface tension of the Coke, which breaks apart the water molecules and, in doing so, allows carbon dioxide bubbles to form more readily. The moment the pin was pulled, a slider ring resting above the pin fell into place and covered the holes where the trigger pin once was. [31] As for the Mentos, many things work to nucleate carbonated beverages such as other candy, metal and ceramic spheres,[32] and even sand.[33][34]. Note that the contact angle for the aspartame and potassium benzoate solutions is less than the contact angle for pure water, indicating a decrease in the surface tension. Children will enjoy this hilarious story and use their hands to mix up a batch of Instant Worms. WebFun Science Experiments // Mentos and Coke / Soda ExperimentIncludes BOTH US size and Australian A4 sized files/spelling!This fun experiment explores the physical reaction Because the level of carbonation in these products might be different from the Coke products, the seltzer and tonic water results should be considered independently from the Coca-Cola product trials. 2023 Cool Kid Facts. The physical characteristics of Mentos (surface roughness) have the effect of drastically reducing the activation energy for carbon dioxide bubble formation so that the nucleation rate becomes exceedingly high. Coke possesses been which preferred mark through all other coke, spite one preference for Pepsi in blind taste tests. Pepper has the strongest reaction. Mentos Geyser Experiment Mentos & Coke Experiment Everyone wants to know how many Mentos make the highest shooting geyser. Make sure the candies are in line with the mouth of the bottle. For the Mint Mentos and baking soda trials, the pH of the Diet Coke before and after the reaction was measured by a pH meter with a two point calibration. Why does the coke react to Mentos? Pre-existing bubbles provide a way for the reaction to occur without requiring bubbles to form within the liquid itself (homogeneous nucleation). Mentos and Diet Coke eruption Leata @ Pt England School Hall, Magdalena Jaramillo, Cully Little, and Zach Russell, and my graduate research assistant, Jon Jones. Diet Coke and Coke Zero react better with Mentos than regular Coke does because of the absence of sugar. The colorful nature of this chemistry experiment kit introduces your child to basic concepts of volume, measurement and chemical reactions in a safe, no-mess way. Also thanks to my undergraduate summer research assistants for their hard work, including A.J. The question was asked on a special College Week episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Invert the test tube, holding the cover in place. Contact mode AFM image of Mint Mentos. One method for doing this is to roll a piece of paper into a tube just big enough to hold the loose Mentos, like a roll of coins. The demo went from relative obscurity to an internet sensation! What is the dependent variable in Coke and Mentos experiment? These claims are also supported by data from the liquid gum arabic trials. What is the independent variable in the Mentos experiment? However, scientists are finding that theres more to this spectacular demonstration than meets the eye. The candies catalyze the release of gas from the beverage, which creates an eruption that pushes most of the liquid up and out of the bottle.[1][2]. This chemistry science kit includes activities for solo and group experiments, making it a fantastic addition to your classroom or for fun at home. 4, and some of the AFM images are shown in Figs. The scale bars represent the following lengths: (a) 2.0mm; (b) 100m, (c) 50m, and (d) 20m. The only variable youll change in this test is the brand of soda; everything else will remain the same. Hence it is the combination of a rough surface and the surfactant in the outer coating of the candy that causes the impressive reactions. Because of this, the addition of Mentos candies to a carbonated beverage provides enormous numbers of pre-existing bubbles into which dissolved carbon dioxide can escape. Something else to consider about diet sodas is that they tend to be less sticky when released out in the open. This experiment investigates if small changes in your diet can alter your basal body temperature. Its true that putting Mentos into a bottle of Coke will cause an impressive geyser of soda to erupt from the bottle. We used a FEI Quanta 200 electron scanning microscope. But it has nothing to do with the mint Mentos actual flavor. Surface roughness has often been cited as the most important cause of the Diet CokeMentos reaction.13 Increased surface roughness implies a higher surface area to volume ratio, meaning that more growth sites should be present on per unit volume. The seltzer and tonic water were not Coca-Cola products, and it was not possible to find seltzer and tonic water with the same expiration date as the Coke products. Although mentos look smooth, they are in fact covered with layers upon layers of bumps and rough edges, making them filled with nucleation sites. This was demonstrated in an experiment that tested 15 types of carbonated beverages with Mentos. Place the index card and candies over the mouth of the bottle. The quantitative roughness information detailed in Table V was taken from this image. Mentos are heavy and can travel the entire volume of the bottle, breaking many bonds and building a lot of pressure that is released in the form of a geyser of soda (Grobe & Voltz, n.d.). Henrys law applies to gases dissolved in liquids, such as the carbon dioxide gas dissolved in Diet Coke and other sodas. Why does the reaction happen? WebMentos and Soda Experiment | Eepy Bird The Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments About The Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments This is the video that started it all: a backyard experiment became a cultural phenomenon. What is the conclusion of Coke and Mentos? The dependent variable was the height of the rise of Coca-Cola. Conclusion: The Diet Coke reacted to the Mentos, which means the hypothesis was correct. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Mentos View the Mentos Geyser Experiment here! To maintain consistency we also constructed a tube to fit over the mouth of the bottle and a delivery mechanism for the solid materials. What would happen if you had Coke and Mentos? Easy Science for Kids. June 15, 2008 -- The startling reaction between Diet Coke and Mentos sweets, made famous in thousands of YouTube videos, finally has a scientific explanation. Let us know what you observed in your science experiment! It is an excellent way for children to see gas in action and is a great activity to teach This demonstration illustrates many important ideas in physics, including key principles in thermodynamics, surface science, and the physics of eruptions. Repeat the same procedure for the bottle of soda at room temperature and then again for the bottle of warm soda. We found that the Diet CokeMint Mentos reaction lasted 3.8s, the Diet CokeFruit Mentos reaction lasted 3.6s, and the Diet CokeWint-o-Green reaction lasted 4.9s. The basic science of the Coke and Mentos reaction is fairly straightforward. This phenomenon is an illustration of Henrys law given in Eq. Its a fascinating experiment that can get young students interested in science, but we over here at Quantum Outreach have long pondered about the science behind this phenomenon. What is the hypothesis of Mentos and soda? In conclusion the hypothesis that the diet coke will have the greatest explosion because of the high level of CO2 gas contained in it was correct. The Diet CokeWint-o-Green reaction loses more mass and the spray travels farther than the Diet Cokerock salt reaction. 1 and 3 reveal jagged edges, pores, and seemingly rough surfaces (excellent growth sites for the carbon dioxide bubbles) for both table salt and sand grains. Also, the coating dissolves very rapidly in water, and so is not effective at preventing the growth of carbon dioxide bubbles. What happens when you drop Mentos in a bottle of coke? Only one trial was performed for each temperature. ", "Science of Mentos-Diet Coke explosions explained", "Bubble nucleation from gas cavities a review", "Ethanol as a Probe for the Mechanism of Bubble Nucleation in the Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment", "Does the Mentos and Soda Trick Work With Regular Coke? What type of chemical reaction is Coke and Mentos? Diet Coke and Coke Zero react better with Mentos than regular Coke does because of the absence of sugar. Its also important that all of the test bottles are stored in the same place so that the liquid in each bottle is the same temperature. WebKids TV Yenu and Sanu is home to gaining knowledge & entertain toddlers. The experiment became a subject of the television show MythBusters in 2006. To the naked eye, Fruit Mentos are shinier than Mint Mentos, and therefore should be smoother. The Amazing Scientist Chemistry Kit is designed to get your young scientist interested in chemistry. Using any more than seven Mentos mints is just a waste, according to these soda-soaked science enthusiasts. Nucleation sites are the regions where the carbon dioxide gas gathers and forms bubbles. Kilauea, for example. Then, make comparisons, create a chart with your data and draw your conclusions. A 10% difference is comparable to the uncertainty in our experiments, and hence it is difficult to observe significant differences in the results for Diet Coke compared to Caffeine Free Diet Coke. What soda has the biggest reaction to Mentos? You can also place the bottle of unopened soda in a bucket of warm water. What exactly happens when you mix Mentos and Coke? The solution becomes supersaturated with carbon dioxide when the bottle is opened, and the pressure is released. [9][10], In the 1910s, Wint-O-Green Life Savers were used to create soda geysers. It really only takes a few minutes to setup the mentos and coke volcano experiment. Carbonated sodas contain elevated levels of carbon dioxide under pressure. Does the flavor of Mentos affect the explosion? Making science accessible and fun for youth. We enable strictly necessary cookies to give you the best possible experience on Education.com. However, as more experiments were done, some using Diet Coke which has zero caffeine, this theory was ruled out. The Diet Science project. (2019, December 18). At the end of the 1990s, the manufacturer of Wintergreen Lifesavers increased the size of the mints, and they no longer fit in the mouth of soda bottles. [21][29], Additional explanations for why diet sodas outperform regular sodas in this experiment have been proposed. The winning Geyser Tube design was a clear plastic tube with a special fitting that twisted onto any soda bottle. This low temperature allows the maximum amount of carbon dioxide to dissolve into the soda, keeping the carbonation levels as high as possible. Le Chateliers principle states that, If, to a system at equilibrium, a stress be applied, the system will react so as to relieve the stress.6 In our experiment the stress we are applying increases the temperature of the Diet Coke.