All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Carbon dioxide is the force that pushes the liquid out of the bottle in a fraction of a second. I pack, and 1-2 cans mountain dew. A harmless procedure it's clearly not one look at online video clips of the force of "Mentos effect" eruptions shooting out of pop bottles should convince even the most adventurous not to risk any part of their digestive systems on such parlor tricks. All the reactions took place in a bottle angled at 10 off vertical and the fountain trajectories were recorded on video. diet soda eschews these ingredients in the name of fewer calories, dishwasher soap and water to a soda bottle. * Citric acid and bicarbonate of soda should release lots of carbon dioxide. Update Date: 3 January 2023. Because these molecules are thus less likely to hold onto each other, the solution is easier to disrupt. Still not quite getting it? essentially cause a lot of the carbon dioxide trapped. - Structure, Composition & Facts, The Total of All Chemical Reactions in an Organism, Working Scholars Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community. The eruption should happen instantaneously, so make sure to get out of the way to avoid being covered in sticky soda. Mentos reacts strongly to all carbonated drinks owing to some of its molecular properties. What Chemical In Mentos Makes Coca-Cola Explode? Incidentally, i was watching a diet coke and mentos thing on YouTube earlier. Rough-surfaced mints without the surfactant did not create such large fountains. but then after an hour i realised my tummy had gone down, so it had risen, i just hadnt noticed alot lol. I feel like its a lifeline. This is because fruity Mentos have an extra coating of flavor which slows down the reaction time. an experiment that tested 15 types of carbonated beverages with Mentos, 11b 13 Aston Fields Road,Whitehouse Industrial Estate, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 3DL. The bubbles' buoyancy coupled with their rapid growth, causes them to rise to the surface, resulting in an eruption of foamy diet soda. also, i had to lay down to hold in the gas. The gruesome appeal of the combusted tot story kept the legend in circulation long after it had been repeatedly debunked and dismissed. Instead it is a physical reaction. The engineer explains that the yellow nose cap is full of mentos, while the body is full of pressurized diet coke. So, in a nutshell (or, more aptly, a Mentos shell), soda mixtures with more sugar in them are more viscous, making their reactions less powerful. The place i normally order it from has been most unreliable lately, hence the halt in the "research". You might think that there is some ingredient in a Mentos candy causing a chemical reaction with the soda, like the way baking soda reacts with vinegar. Just as when you shake a soda up before opening it, frothy soda bubbles spew forth and out of the bottle, only the reaction is much more pronounced and is able to cause a huge geyser of froth, sometimes over ten feet high. Pouring soda into a muddy hole in the ground does the same, so the Mentos are totally unnecessary. Your stomach will not explode. The result is a massive eruption of foam, shooting stories high into the air. As it does not have sugar so it will be easy to clean up the mess after experiment. 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. Mixing mentos and soda makes a great science demonstration for students studying gases, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, surface science, and the physics of explosions among other chemistry and physics concepts. What is the most reasonable hypothesis to explain the difference? Nucleation is the process by which a state of matter becomes another state of matter on its own. The Diet Coke and Mentos geyser is the result of a physical process rather than a chemical reaction. Safety Tip!! This means that they sink to the bottom of the beverage. Thousands of microscopic carbon dioxide bubbles accumulate in these pockets, which then leaves gaps inside the bottle. Course, it could be just the soda inflating me. "And if you have rough candy with a high ratio of surface area to volume, then there's more places for the bubbles to go.". "These ingredients reduce the work required for bubble formation, allowing carbon dioxide to rapidly escape from the soda,"Coffey and her students found, after comparing the "contact angle for aspartame and water in contrast to pure water or sugar water.". When Diet Coke and Mentos join, the result should be a large fountain of foamy soda that erupts from the bottle. However, most of the carbonation is released from the soda as it is being drunk, so the pressure is lower and carbon dioxide is less likely to nucleate. Pop a bottle and have a browse. Procedure: -. The resulting splash from diet soda with this mixture would surely be something to record. Another classic scientific experiment that is often performed but uncommonly understood is the Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment. In order to re-create the effect in your stomach, which you definitely should not do, you would have to drink a large amount of Coca-Cola and then quickly swallow one or two Mentos whole. This spectacle is mainly caused by a physical reaction that rapidly releases the dissolved carbon dioxide from the beverage. From left to right: action of five Mentos candies (per bottle) with Perrier, classic Coke, Sprite, and Diet Coke A Diet Coke and Mentos eruption (also known as a soda geyser) is a reaction between the carbonated beverage Diet Coke and Mentos mints that causes the beverage to be expelled from its container. Surface tension allows a cup to be filled with water past its brim. While science teachers have been dropping candies and mints into 2-liter bottles of soda for years in an effort to release all of the dissolved carbon dioxide, the Mentos and Diet Coke reaction became world famous in 2005. Dangerous (Do not drink Coka-Cola and eat MENTOS together)Last week a little boy died in Brazil after eating MENTOS and drinking COCA COLA together. Diet soda stereotypically has a better reaction than regular soda. Additionally, the stomach has a couple ways of expelling excess gases. I'm addicted to Crystal Pepsi: https://youtu.be/qEjy3dS6COs \"HAVE A CRYSTAL PEPSI DAY!\" - L.A. It's been called the "vinegar and baking soda" reaction for a new generation. Coke and Mentos Reaction Lab Ingredients in the Mentos and Diet Coke and, more importantly, the structure of the Mentos, allow carbon dioxide bubbles to form extremely rapidly. If you haven't heard about the Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment then you have probably been living under a rock. The short answer is that eating Mentos by chewing them up while drinking Coca-Cola, or any other soda, will little to no effect. Diet Coke and Mentos - . Ok, so i was wonderin about coke and mentos inflation. The team also investigated the total mass lost in the fountain and the influence of the sweet's surface roughness. When combining Diet Coke and Mentos, one would get a physical reaction. Acids and bases are common classes of chemicals that react with each other and with water. This is the same thing that happens to any other container with volatile ingredients. also, i had to lay down to hold in the gas. Only after the Mythbusters pumped a large amount of compressed air into the stomach did it finally burst, and it took a LOT of air. There is an urban legend that eating mentos while drinking soda could cause a person's stomach to burst. Diet Coke and Mentos - . Documentary Mystery Reality-TV Jamie and Adam try to scientifically explain the recently publicized and highly entertaining chemical reaction caused as a result of placing a Mentos candy into a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke. This is the same thing that happens to any other container with volatile ingredients. Just getting the Mentos into your stomach will likely disrupt some of the surface. anyways no expanding tummy as of yet. Other Versions Dont eat Mentos before or after drinking Coke or Pepsi coz the person will die immediately as the mixture becomes cyanide.. Mentos react with Diet Coke because their rough surfaces provide suitable sites for rapid growth of carbon dioxide bubbles, according to Mental Floss magazine. Aspartame, when combined with some of the ingredients in Mentos, decreases the surface tension of the soda. It was funny afterwards. Please contact for permissions. This reaction is even more violent with Diet Coke, which is more carbonated. Coca-Cola is a carbonated beverage that is full of dissolved carbon dioxide. Sticking a finger into a glass of soda will result in the formation of tiny bubbles full of carbon dioxide that stick to the skin. To conduct this experiment, first start off by finding a location that can be easily cleaned or hosed off, such as an open area outside. As the bubbles get bigger, they detach from the Mentos and race to the top of the soda. I only managed about 2 litres of gas like this. Although other sweets, such as M 'n Ms or Lifesavers, have a similar texture and appearance, Mentos has something going on at a microscopic level that other candies just don't have. I used the cheapest brands available in our local supermarket. This is because as they rise, they disrupt the solution on their way to the surface, allowing more carbon dioxide to escape from the solution. It certainly wont be comfortable and Mentos, but there arent any real health risks from doing so. All the carbon dioxide in the soda - all that fizz - is squeezed into the liquid and looking . Their explanation is this process called nucleation. After all, its well known that dropping Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke will cause a sudden geyser of soda foam to erupt. One year before the same accident happened with another boy in Brazil. Second, even if one did get a strong reaction to eating and drinking Mentos and Diet Coke at the same time, you'd likely just quickly vomit up the foam, which there have been numerous recorded instances of. A Mentos dropped into a bottle of soda acts as a surfactant, meaning it reduces the surface tension of the soda. While we cant really know what kind of damage this kid may have done to his stomach, the results were fairly predictable. The "child who died from combining Mentos and Coca-Cola" story is an updating of an older legend that began in 1979. [1] Other factors that affect the growth rate or total number of carbon dioxide bubbles also changed the geyser's height, such as temperature and the original surface tension of the soda. 1. When soda is poured into a glass, most of the carbon dioxide remains trapped under the water (or liquid) thanks to its surface tension. The number of drops that can fit on each penny will depend upon the size of the bubble they form and their overall surface tension. Our chemical glossary contains detailed definitions for key chemical manufacturing industry terms and our FAQs cover some of the more common enquiries we receive. In an . I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. This is complete nonsense! As the outlet explains, "those gas bubbles want to escape," and "to create bubbles, the carbon dioxide needs to interact with itself, which means that the carbon dioxide's bonds with water in Diet Coke must be broken.". The reaction is caused by a process called nucleation, whereby the carbon dioxide in the soda is attracted to dozens of tiny pores on the surface of the Mentos, causing so much pressure that the . Gotta do it fast, though. Bases are bitter and feel slippery to the touch. 13 chapters | Was Coca-Cola the First Soda to Use Santa In Advertisements? Maybe your stomach would explode! Part of the scientific method is making a prediction called a hypothesis. A study in the US has identified the prime factors that drive the fizzy plumes from Coke bottles: the roughness of the sweet and how fast it plummets to the bottle's base. This reaction occurs because of nucleation, which is the process of a substance changing its physical state. If your eruption wasn't everything you'd hoped for, make sure you have fresh ingredients. Thus, the texture of Mentos alone increases the rate of nucleation. I dunno, I've chewed up a mentos and dropped it in soda- still fizz's just fine. And if you add a big enough surfactant, you get a geyser. The reaction is so intense, you can make a rocket propelled by . Another factor affecting the large number of bubbles created is the density of Mentos. Version 1 - Mentos and Diet Coke vs. Mentos and other diet sodas. Then I immediately chugged another half liter or so of coke. So why do Mentos make so many bubbles? Do not try such experiments yourself though. People will do anything for YouTube views, so you can watch a dimwit do this experiment here. I've always had to explore this entire fetish on my own, that is, without anyone physically present i can share it with, and that probably makes me dogmatic and inflexible. Diet coke has 135 calories in a 12 fluid ounce serving, while mentos has 90 calories. Here's an experiment to try at home regarding surface tension. Steaming hot water bursts into the air with the crowd watching in awe. Put the open end of your tube of Mentos on the card and place it directly over the opening of the soda bottle. It's true that most of the people that do it do indeed inflate from simply having that much soda in them, but if you can hold the gas down I don't think there's anything stopping you from inflating. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. Drop several Mentos into a bottle of coke or lemonade, and a huge eruption of bubbles shoots out several meters high. I'll try more next time. They also compared reactions using other fizzy liquids such as caffeine-free and sugary colas, as well as soda water and tonic water. But the rough coating of the candy begins to dissolve the moment you eat it. Shake and inflate. Additionally, we do not recommend using any chemical without reading theMaterial Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), which can be obtained from the manufacturer. It is a physical reaction rather than a chemical one. What is the science behind the mentos and coke experiment? The Diet Coke and Mentos reaction is a fun demonstration in chemistry and physics classes of many important concepts in thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, surface science, and . This led to the gum shooting up my nose and sticking there. The two biggest factors affecting the geyser are the roughness of the candy used and the rate at which it sinks to the bottom of the soda bottle. What is the Difference Between Convection and Induction Cooking? [1], Tonya Coffey, a professor at Appalachian State University, used the experiment to give her undergraduate physics class a real-world research experience as one of their laboratory assignments. When analyzing my new approach to this time . If you'd like to try more than one Mentos, roll them into a small paper tube to drop in. What makes Cola and Mentos react? The Mentos' surface area is conducive to carbon dioxide nucleation from the solution. Pour out the first 5cm of Diet Coke for extra working room. The project was eventually published in the American Journal of Physics. Diet Coke will work better than regular Coke for this experiment. Their explanation is this process called nucleation. There is an urban legend that eating mentos while drinking soda could cause a person's stomach to burst. Search Pepsi Girl + Mentos. That year, the grist being run through the rumor mill included the sad tale of. Watch the full video for a more detailed explanation. Procedure: Stack the Mentos candies (approx. The mints are small oblate spheroids, with a slightly hard exterior and a soft, chewy interior.. Ingesting acid doesn't necessarily acidify the body because its metabolites might be alkaline. Mentos Geyser Experiment. COCA COLA VS MENTOS || Sprite vs Mentos All content published on theReAgent.ieblog is for information only. Step 3: Shake and Launch! 124 lessons. Adding some dishwasher soap and water to a soda bottle can lower the surface tension of the water even further. Both fruit and mint Mentos will work for this experiment. I'm Chris Watson, the chap that brings you Soda Pop Craft. Any type of soda is pressurized to keep it fizzy inside the bottle. When the pressure is released, the carbon dioxide is forced out of solution and makes little gas bubbles. Crushed Mentos that fell more slowly created puny fountains that only travelled about 30 centimetres. This uneven texture provides a perfect surface to disrupt the solution and serves as an excellent attachment point for nucleated bubbles of gas. 3. Mentos are also fairly dense and sink rapidly, quickly creating bubbles that seed further bubbles as they rise. All rights reserved. A mint-flavored mentos makes a geyser 5 meters high and a fruit-flavored mentos makes a geyser 2 meters high when the two candies are put into identical bottles of soda under identical experimental conditions. If you shake the can first, you disrupt the solution and get a face full of soda. Theories abound as to why this happens, with some bloggers speculating that it is an acid-base reaction because Coke is acidic. Is the How Coca-Cola Reacts to Stomach Acid Video Real? Sodium bicarbonate can throw your acid-base balance way out and kill you. Common bases are found glass cleaners (ammonia), antacid tablets (carbonate), baking soda (also carbonate), and toothpaste (fluoride). in action:. 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