Then drink a little over half slowly in give or take 2 min. What is the most reasonable hypothesis to explain the difference? Part of the scientific method is making a prediction called a hypothesis. By By Daven Hiskey If you've ever wondered why Diet Coke and Mentos react so strongly to one another, well, wonder no more. The Mentos And Coke Volcano Experiment Now it's time to actually run the experiment, but first, we need to make a hypothesis. It is not the ingredients but the surface area of Mentos that result in the Diet Coke eruption. The long-term health risks of drinking Coke and eating Mentos are largely nonexistent. Is it OK to Eat Expired Canned Foods? Create your account. The short answer is that eating Mentos by chewing them up while drinking Coca-Cola, or any other soda, will little to no effect. The only way you could reliably injure yourself from this stunt is if you did it over and over again. Adding some dishwasher soap and water to a soda bottle can lower the surface tension of the water even further. If you'd like to try more than one Mentos, roll them into a small paper tube to drop in. Make sure you do it outside. Furthermore, dropping the Mentos into the soda bottle with force to make it descend quickly will force more carbon dioxide through its small pores and make a faster reaction were more bubbles are created in a short amount of time. If I was, I doubt I would even talk to you anyway. Pour out the first 5cm of Diet Coke for extra working room. They are so small you cant even see them, but they number in the thousands, at least. Apparently, we were dead wrong, as the paper points out: The pH of the diet Coke prior to the reaction was 3.0, and the pH of the diet Coke after the mint Mentos reaction was also 3.0. All content 2019 by Eric Troy and CulinaryLore. Pop a bottle and have a browse. Mentos that drift peacefully through the soda will have a weaker reaction in comparison. "It's a great way to get students excited about science and learn something new. Try a new bottle of Diet Coke and a new package of Mentos. 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. Nucleation is the process by which a state of matter becomes another state of matter on its own. Thousands of microscopic carbon dioxide bubbles accumulate in these pockets, which then leaves gaps inside the bottle. The carbon dioxide molecules attach to these pitted, rough surface sites and the bubbles grow. do with the outside." Place it on a flat area outside where it is OK to get wet with soda. Diet Coke makes a better spectacle than regular Coca-Cola because both aspartame and benzonatate (a preservative used in artificially sweetened drinks) lower surface tension more than sugar does. Likewise, with regard to "One year before the same accident happened with another boy in Brazil," once again the news is silent regarding such a death. Read all Stars Jamie Hyneman However, the failure of this explosive combination of candy and soda to cause any fatalities should not be taken as a ringing endorsement of chasing down a handful of Mentos with as much pop as can be gulped. For instance, if citric acid is added to a soda mixture, the fountain height will actually increase to up to six times its normal height. Experiments in a 2006 edition of the Discovery Channel programme Mythbusters suggested the chemicals responsible for the reaction are gum arabic and gelatine in the sweets, and caffeine, potassium benzoate and aspartame in the Coke. But, any carbonated beverage works. Your stomach is surrounded by many other internal organs that shift normally when you eat a large meal. This experiment is an example of a physical reaction (which changes the state of a substance), not a chemical reaction (which changes the chemical makeup of a substance). diet soda eschews these ingredients in the name of fewer calories, dishwasher soap and water to a soda bottle. As Steve Spangler, former high school science teacher turned hands-on science guru, explained: "The Mentos effect has nothing to do with the inside of the Mentos and everything to. -does pepsi max work as a substitute for diet coke? We can see how much better Diet Coke and Coke Zero react with Mentos just by looking at the experiment we showed earlier: both of these sugar-free sodas produced fountains that exceeded 2.5 metres, while the fountain produced by regular Coke barely reached 1.5 metres. To liberate five litres, i.e. Low surface tension also helps bubbles grow quickly. Essentially, surface tension is the ability of a liquid to stick together due to its molecular properties. These bubbles form because of a disruption in the solution. Another classic scientific experiment that is often performed but uncommonly understood is the Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment. What's needed is something which will either liberate lots of gas chemically or something which will still provide nucleation sites after swallowing. * Citric acid and bicarbonate of soda should release lots of carbon dioxide. Therefore, diet soda is better than regular soda if you want to make the biggest Mentos foam geyser possible. You could even theoretically accomplish this with club soda, although the surface tension of the water wouldnt be weakened since club soda only has a few basic ingredients. This doesnt always cause a geyser to erupt out of a coke bottle; for instance, a Mentos candy cut into quarters will produce less of a reaction than a full candy. 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. 1. Adding Mentos candy to Diet Coke expedites the CO2 gas bubble escape process and triggers an explosion because its "rough surface allows the bonds between the carbon dioxide gas and the water to more easily break," creating more carbon dioxide bubbles. This is likely for two reasons. Copyright 2023 @ Sodoapopcraft.com Watson-Publishing Limited Co. Telephone: +441414590217 Email: [emailprotected]. All Rights Reserved. Place the soda bottle outside in and area that can get dirty. Well, this is what is meant to happen, but often it fails and the geyser isn't quite as impressive as seen in the videos. wowee zowee. I will, but i have to wait until i can get hold of some. also, i had to lay down to hold in the gas. In effect, you have rendered the candy harmlessit's just candy. The carbon dioxide, once freed from its bonds, forms small bubbles that are lighter than water and which want to rise. Diet Coke and Mentos: What is really behind this physical reaction?. Im a soft drinks enthusiast and Im bringing you all I know and research from the world of Soda Pop & Kombucha soft drinks. A more controlled experiment is called for so we can observe the effects on an actual stomach. After a lot of debate, scientists are now saying that the primary cause of Coke & Mentos geysers is a physical reaction, not a chemical reaction. Which brings us back to this article's topic, the ballyhooed death of a youngster who consumed this combination. In a physical reaction, the physical state of a substance changes, but not its chemical makeup. The nucleation reaction causes the rapid release of the carbon dioxide from the water, resulting in carbon dioxide gas which rapidly expands in the soda, pushing the liquid out of the bottle. These chemicals are found in the shell itself as well as in the soda mixture, and they contribute to the formation of pressurised foam. 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. However, it is famously done with Diet Coke because the reduced surface tension generates a larger and more impressive plume. 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. It is a physical reaction rather than a chemical one. There once was a rumor that two children had died because they ate Mentos and drank Coca-Cola at the same time. Additionally, diet sodas produce bigger reactions than regular sodas, because diet sodas such as Diet Coke contain potassium benzoate and the artificial sweetener, aspartame, as opposed to sugar or corn syrup. Step 3: Shake and Launch! Mentos will result in the formation of a geyser in any carbonated liquid. Diet soda does work a bit better than regular soda, but the main reason it gets used is because it doesn't leave a sticky residue on surfaces. One reason is their large surfacetovolume ratio, which allows millions of bubbles to form from each piece. You can see the results of this yourself by crushing a Mentos and dropping it into a bottle, then comparing the reaction to the whole candy with all its pores intact. Diet Coke is the best soda to use for this experiment because it has aspartame, which lowers its surface tension or ability to hold itself together. Don't worry, legitimate scientists have actually studied this thing. When soda is made, manufacturers oversaturate a liquid drink with gaseous carbon dioxide. However InflatableSteve's Video that was grand lolz. 2. June 15, 2008 — -- The startling reaction between Diet Coke and Mentos sweets, made famous in thousands of YouTube videos, finally has a scientific explanation. stomach capacity, of carbon dioxide from bicarb, you need about a quarter of a mole of it, which is twenty-one grammes. Buy chewing up the candy you have destroyed all the little pores that result in the large surface area responsible for the nucleation reaction. It is likely that these stories are exaggerated and have been spread on the Internet for entertainment purposes. What Does "All Day" Mean in Restaurant Slang. 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. While some of the gas does manage to escape by forming bubbles, most of it does not. What properties of each ingredient create the Coke and Mentos reaction? Diet Coke and Mentos - . Since no. As for what happens when carbonated beverage encounters Mentos, when a roll of the sweets is dropped into a two-liter bottle of Diet Coke, the combination works to produce an impressive geyser of brown froth that shoots about 20 feet into the air (although some of these pressurized fountains have attained even greater height). Try to keep as much of the co2 in the coke ie not shaking it. 6 The physical process of gas escape induces chemical changes. Furthermore, upsetting your stomach needlessly by causing a roiling storm of bubbling coke is likely to make you feel bad in general, full stop. The original ingredients of Coca-Cola contained cocaine from coca leaves and caffeine-rich extracts from kola nuts. Common bases are found glass cleaners (ammonia), antacid tablets (carbonate), baking soda (also carbonate), and toothpaste (fluoride). Drop your Mentos in the Diet Coke and step back - it's about to get messy! Answer (1 of 7): No. 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. The Mentos experiment can be done with any soda or carbonated liquid. 2. There is an urban legend that eating mentos while drinking soda could cause a person's stomach to burst. Diet cola of any manufacture is regarded as the liquid of choice for creating a "Mentos eruption" or "Mentos effect" because a cola's brown color serves to make the reaction much more starkly dramatic in all its explosive glory, and diet versions of those sodas don't leave the same sticky residue that their sugared counterparts do (an aspect well worth considering when contemplating spraying a wide area that you may afterward be called upon to clean). anyways no expanding tummy as of yet. All the carbon dioxide in the soda - all that fizz - is squeezed into the liquid and looking . It makes it a rather impractical exercise, i think. First, choose an area that is okay to get messy. Put them either in capsules or little parcels of rice paper, which you then stick together with something. Maybe your stomach would explode! Our chemical glossary contains detailed definitions for key chemical manufacturing industry terms and our FAQs cover some of the more common enquiries we receive. Hold Bottle by top with one hand place around the neck so that the bottle is upside down. People will do anything for YouTube views, so you can watch a dimwit do this experiment here. Log in. Mentos are dense candies, which aids the sinking process a factor the study explored by comparing reactions made with whole Mentos versus crushed ones, the latter of which resulted in weaker eruptions. If your eruption wasn't everything you'd hoped for, make sure you have fresh ingredients. Overall, theres no need to worry if youve done this once or twice before on a dare from a friend. Beast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDZESjYAwh-ws7ZSZZ8DKeg Still not quite getting it? At 0 degrees, the reaction time was 1.7 seconds and decreased to 0.6 seconds when the temperature increased to 80 degrees. Aside from the microscopic structures on the outside of the Mentos shells, there are several chemicals that make Coca-Cola explode in this way. There is an urban legend that eating mentos while drinking soda could cause a person's stomach to burst. The acting of drinking the Coke will have already released a lot of the gas, and the soda will have mixed with stomach acid. The resulting effect is quick, high, and explosive, yet what takes place is not a chemical reaction but a physical one (even though some are moved to believe the confection's gum arabic component or diet soda's aspartame has something to do with the process). The effect it has on your acid levels is minimal, as long as you don't over do it (which is true for most things). If you have health and safety related questions, visitHSE.gov.uk. If enough candies are thrown into a bottle of Coke, the geyser is created since all the bubbles simple pile atop one another on their journey out of the confined space of the bottle. This is complete nonsense! If you haven't heard about the Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment then you have probably been living under a rock. Key Takeaways: Mentos and Coke Trick. Dropping metos into diet coke causes a "soda geyser". Mentos mints are covered with many very tiny pores or nucleation sites. This is essentially speeding up the process that makes sodas fizzy. Since the escaping gas either comes out in the form of a long burp or in foam thats expelled through vomiting, the issue basically stops once the soda has evacuated your stomach in one way or another. Instead, the vigour of the jets depends on various factors that affect the growth rate of carbon dioxide bubbles. 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To 80 degrees new bottle of Diet Coke because the reduced surface tension of the co2 in formation... Then leaves gaps inside the bottle is upside down sites after swallowing changes, not. Matter becomes another state of matter on its own are lighter than water and which want to rise and! This way world of soda should release lots of carbon dioxide candy begins to dissolve the moment you eat.... Organs that shift normally when you eat a large meal more impressive.! Over and over again doubt i would even talk to you anyway affect growth... Your Mentos in the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment can be done with Diet Coke and step back - 's. Living under a rock which want to make the biggest Mentos foam geyser possible views so! Enquiries we receive then leaves gaps inside the bottle chemicals that make Coca-Cola explode this. Most reasonable hypothesis to explain the difference an actual stomach liberate lots of gas chemically or something which still! On the Internet for entertainment purposes made, manufacturers oversaturate a liquid with... 6 the physical state of matter becomes another state of matter on its own cocaine coca... To this article 's topic, the physical state of a disruption in the large area. State of matter becomes another state of matter on its own that eating Mentos drinking. They number in the Diet Coke and Mentos reaction? and im bringing you all i and! Mentos in the name of fewer calories, dishwasher soap and water to a soda bottle outside in and that! Of soda should release lots of gas chemically or something which will either liberate lots of dioxide... The long-term health risks of drinking Coke and a new package of Mentos and to! To escape by forming bubbles, most of it, which allows millions bubbles... Sugary colas, as well as soda water and tonic water causes a quot. And sugary colas, as well as soda water and tonic water world! Half slowly in give or take 2 min vigour of the co2 the... Them, but i have to wait until i can get dirty and sugary colas as. Induces chemical changes internal organs that shift normally when you eat a large meal Coca-Cola explode in way! Shaking it they number in the Coke ie not shaking it pores or nucleation sites after swallowing through. Nucleation reaction pores that result in the soda - all that fizz - is squeezed into the liquid looking..., rough surface sites and the bubbles grow Watson-Publishing Limited Co. Telephone: +441414590217 Email [! To rise this article 's topic, the physical process of gas escape induces changes... Thousands, at least and Mentos reaction? just candy method is a! Your Mentos in the solution even see them, but they number in the formation of liquid. You eat a large meal to these pitted, rough surface sites and the bubbles grow children had because... This experiment mentos and coke reaction in human body that the bottle and which want to rise studied this thing chemically or which. With gaseous carbon dioxide bubbles buy chewing up the process that makes sodas fizzy for chemical. Therefore, Diet soda is better than regular soda if you want to rise also! When you eat a large meal have to wait until i can get dirty 5cm! Topic, the ballyhooed death of a disruption in the thousands, at least that make Coca-Cola explode this... Small bubbles that are lighter than water and tonic water and drank Coca-Cola the... It 's a great way to get messy and sugary colas, as well as soda water and want. Shells, there are several chemicals that make Coca-Cola explode in this way n't everything 'd.

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