cool science experiment original mentos diet coke geyser

• Kids Videos
• KIDS FIRST!
• Movie Trailers
• Entertainment
• Brain Candy
• Take a Poll

Quiz! Test Your Knowledge on Christmas Sho...

Quiz! What is your Christmas Spirit?

Christmas Trivia Quiz!

Quiz! Test Your Black Panther - War for Wa...

Quiz! What's Your Winter Personality?

How Well Do You Know PlayStation Quiz?

Quiz! Test Your Monster Hunter Rise Knowle...

Quiz! Test Your Among Us Trivia!

Quiz! Test Your Ratchet & Clank Knowle...

Quiz! What Movie Should You Watch on Netflix?

Quiz! Think You Know Wonder Woman?

Quiz! How Well Do You Know DC Comics?

Quiz! Test Your Trolls World Tour Trivia!

Quiz! Which Holiday Movie Are You?

Quiz! How Well Do Your Friends Know You?

Quiz! Test Your Knowledge on Roller Coasters!

Quiz! What Is Your Favorite School Subject?

Quiz! Name That Tourist Destination!

Quiz! What New Summer Sport Should You Try?

Quiz! Test Your Super Bowl Smarts!

• Celebrity Vault
• At The Movies
• Music Source

Bike Racing

Jewels Blitz 3

Goodgame Empire

Candy Rain 3

Dear Dish-it

• Careers & Jobs

Homework Help

• Quiz The Coach
• Action Sports
• Sports Gear
• Free Contests
• About Kidzworld
• What is Kidzworld?
• Advertise with us
• Site Safety
• Safety Guidelines
• KNOW ABOUT COPPA
• Parent & Teachers
• Just For You
• Connect With Us

Science Project: Mentos and Diet Coke Geyser

What’s better than soda , candy and explosions ? What about soda , candy and explosions all at the same time? That’s right. This science project may be the most exciting science project you can do and, to add sugar to the sweet, you can find all the materials at the corner store. Amazing!

Although the explosion is simple to achieve there’s quite a bit of interesting science going on in that bottle of cola, which makes this a perfect science fair project. Before we get to the exciting stuff where you get covered in soda, let’s find out what’s happening to make this all so exciting.

The Science:

You may have done a similar experiment where you combine baking soda and vinegar . Maybe you did this in a volcano model? That reaction is a chemical reaction where a new material is formed. This reaction, the Mentos and Diet Coke reaction is a physical reaction, where all the pieces of the reaction remain but are simply rearranged .

The soda is filled with carbon dioxide . That’s what gives the drink all those bubbles and what makes you burp when you drink too much soda. When the bottle is unopened the pressure from the bottle keeps the bubbles in the liquid. When you open a bottle of soda, depending on whether you shook it up beforehand, the bubbles stay in the solution because the surface tension of the liquid traps it in.

The Mentos:

Have you ever seen the surface of a Mentos? Have you ever really seen the surface of a Mentos? Though at first glance a Mentos may seem like it has a smooth surface, there are actually a whole bunch of tiny little dimples covering its surface. All these little dimples provide a place for the carbon dioxide in the soda to latch on and undergo a physical reaction . Scientifically speaking each little dimple on the Mentos is called a nucleation site (impress your science teacher with that one) where the carbon dioxide from the soda can attach and escape the liquid solution (the soda). Because there are so many dimples on the Mentos and because there is so much carbon dioxide in the soda solution the reaction is a big one, which you can’t help but notice when you give this experiment a shot.

• 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke (it’s said that the sugar substitute in Diet Coke kick starts the reaction and gives a bigger geyser)
• 1 package of Mentos (the original mint flavor, the fruit flavored Mentos are covered in a wax which means there aren’t as many nucleation sites on them)
• a place where you can get messy (like a picnic table outside or a driveway)
• Place the bottle of Diet Coke squarely on a flat surface.
• Open the bottle.
• Drop the Mentos candies into the bottle.
• Stand back and watch the geyser spray!

Experiment With It!

Any scientist will tell you that while it’s fun to blow things up, you always need to make a hypothesis and compare a few things in order to have a successful experiment. What could make this a successful experiment? Well, what about trying different types of soda ? Does regular Coke have the same reaction as Diet Coke? Is the geyser taller? What about the candy ? Would a Skittle have the same reaction as a Mentos, what about a fruit flavored Mentos?

There are so many different variables you can put into place with this one and who knows, maybe you’ll find a combination that yields an even more amazing eruption!

Have Your Say

What candy-soda combination do you think will yield the tallest geyser ? Tell us what you think in the comments section below!

Related Articles:

• Science Project: How to Make Your Own Crystals
• Soda Club- Homemade Soda in Minutes
• Science Project Idea: Amazing Natural Disasters :: Volcanoes
• More Science and Homework Help

• Science Notes Posts
• Contact Science Notes
• Todd Helmenstine Biography
• Anne Helmenstine Biography
• Free Printable Periodic Tables (PDF and PNG)
• Periodic Table Wallpapers
• Interactive Periodic Table
• Periodic Table Posters
• Science Experiments for Kids
• How to Grow Crystals
• Chemistry Projects
• Fire and Flames Projects
• Holiday Science
• Chemistry Problems With Answers
• Physics Problems
• Unit Conversion Example Problems
• Chemistry Worksheets
• Biology Worksheets
• Periodic Table Worksheets
• Physical Science Worksheets
• Science Lab Worksheets
• My Amazon Books

Diet Coke and Mentos Soda Geyser

The Diet Coke and Mentos soda geyser, also known as the soda and candy fountain or volcano, is a physical reaction between candy and carbon dioxide that instantaneously releases the gas so it shoots into the air. There is a lot of science behind this deceptively simple project! Here are instructions for performing the original project, tips for getting the tallest eruption, options for material substitutions, and a look at how the Diet Coke and Mentos geyser works.

All you need is a packet of Mentos candies and a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke:

• Roll of Mentos candies
• 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke

Make sure the candy is fresh and the bottle of soda is unopened. Freshness matters!

You also need a way of delivering the candies into the soda. One method is just dropping the column from your hand, but rolling them into a paper or index card tube is more reliable. Stacking them into a test tube is another option.

Substitutions

While Mentos and Diet Coke work best, you have other options:

• Any carbonated beverage
• Any candy that stacks neatly into a column
• Coins, shot, or other small items that fit through the bottle opening
• Sand or salt instead of candy (which work quite well)

In general, diet carbonated beverages produce higher fountains than sugary ones. Also, they don’t produce a sticky mess. Uncarbonated beverages, like juice or water, do not work at all. Objects with smooth, flat surfaces (like coins) do not work nearly as well as other options.

How to Make the Diet Coke and Mentos Soda Geyser Erupt

The project is messy. You might want to step outdoors.

• Open the Mentos candies and stack them into a single column.
• Open the bottle of soda.
• Drop the column of candy into the bottle, all at once.

If you have more candy, you can repeat the eruption using the same bottle of soda. It won’t be quite as dramatic, but still works.

Tips for Getting the Biggest Eruption

• Diet Coke or other diet colas outperform any other drinks. There are a lot of potential reasons for this, mainly involving the effects of aspartame, potassium benzoate, and other ingredients on the surface tension and foaming capacity of the beverage. The worst carbonated beverages for this project are carbonated water and sparkling alcoholic drinks.
• The blue Mentos candies work better than other flavors. The fruity Mentos are reportedly the worst flavor. Freshly unwrapped candies are best. Old candy is not very effective, probably because humidity changes the candy surface.
• A 2-liter plastic bottle works better than any smaller bottle, whether it is plastic or glass.
• You get a better eruption at high altitude or low atmospheric pressure compared with sea level or other high pressure situation.
• Warm soda produces a higher fountain than cold soda.

How the Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment Works

The Diet Coke and Mentos eruption is a physical process more than a chemical reaction. The candy surface has many tiny imperfections and cavities, each only a micron or so in size. When you drop the Mentos into the soda there are numerous minute air bubbles stuck onto them. These little bubbles act as nucleation sites for rapid de-gassing of the soda:

CO 2 (aq) → CO 2 (g)

Because the nucleation sites lower the activation energy for bubble formation, you can say they catalyze the reaction.

The candies are dense enough that they sink to the bottom of the soda bottle, interacting with dissolved carbon dioxide as they fall. As carbon dioxide bubbles form, the gas is lighter than the liquid and the bubbles rise. As they rise, they expand. The pressure of the gas results in a quick release of pressure, making a geyser out of the soda. Ingredients in the partially-dissolved candy help the bubbles keep their shape and form a foam as the liquid ejects from the bottle.

Numerous investigations into why diet soda (especially cola) works better than sweetened soda or why Mentos works better than other candies answer some questions, but not all of them. The ingredients in the soda make a difference. However, which ones enhance bubble formation and which suppress it are unclear. The chemical composition of the candies likely contributes to bubble formation, but it’s really their surface structure that matters the most.

Turn the Science Project Into an Experiment

Performing the Diet Coke and Mentos project is easy, but turning the project into an experiment is also simple. Just find a variable under your control, predict the outcome from changing it, conduct an experiment that tests this hypothesis , and then analyze your results and see if your prediction was correct. Here are some ideas of variables you can explore:

• Is there an optimal number of candies for the best eruption?
• Compare different types of carbonated beverages. Do you think, for example, that Coke Zero performs as well as Diet Coke? Do other brands of diet cola perform as well?
• Explore the effect of soda temperature on fountain formation. If you see a difference, comparing chilled and warm soda, can you explain it ?
• Are there any candies that work as well as Mentos? In general, is there a way of predicting whether or not a particular kind of candy produces an eruption?
• What effect do you expect, if you add a bit of bubble solution or dishwashing liquid to the soda before adding the candy?
• Design different “candy delivery” systems. What are the pros and cons of each of them?
• Can you make a nozzle that reduces the diameter of the bottle? If so, what effect does this have on the height of the eruption?

Fun Facts About the Diet Coke and Mentos Project

• The original soda and candy fountain project, circa 1910, used Wint-O-Green Lifesaver candies (which as also great for the “spark in the dark” triboluminescence project ). However, the company changed the candy diameter in the 1990s and it no longer fits into most bottles.
• Scientists estimate the eruption releases between 2.4 and 14 million bubbles per liter of Diet Coke. Regular Coke produces a lot less bubbles.
• A single Mentos candy contains 50,000 to 300,000 nucleation sites, although the reaction does not utilize every one of them.
• Coffey, Tonya Shea (2008). “Diet Coke and Mentos: What is really behind this physical reaction?”. American Journal of Physics . 76 (6): 551–557. doi: 10.1119/1.2888546
• Kuntzleman, Thomas S.; Imhoff, Amanda M. (2021). “How Many Bubbles Are in the Foam Produced during the Candy-Cola Soda Geyser?”. Journal of Chemical Education . 98 (12): 3915–3920. doi: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c01001
• Kuntzleman, Thomas S.; Annis, Jezrielle; Anderson, Hazel; Kenney, Joshua B.; Doctor, Ninad (2020). “Kinetic Modeling of and Effect of Candy Additives on the Candy–Cola Soda Geyser: Experiments for Elementary School Science through Physical Chemistry”. Journal of Chemical Education . 97 (1): 283–288. doi: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00796
• Kuntzleman, Thomas S.; Johnson, Ryan (2020). “Probing the Mechanism of Bubble Nucleation in and the Effect of Atmospheric Pressure on the Candy–Cola Soda Geyser”. Journal of Chemical Education . 97 (4): 980–985. doi: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b01177

Related Posts

Leave a reply cancel reply.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

How To Make A Mentos and Diet Coke Geyser

Today’s experiment was so exciting! It involves only two ingredients- mentos and diet soda!  We also purchased a geyser tube that we saw on @stevespanglerscience which is so awesome in helping to store and release the mentos at a specific time for an epic explosion!

This is a really quick experiment but so fun! We bought 4 bottles of coke to use. The first time, the kids left the red caps on the geyser tube which made the opening narrower. The second time they wanted to leave one off and keep one on (which is shown in our video) to see what would happen.

So what do we need for this epic geyser experiment? Read on below!

Directions:

1️⃣ Open the mentos package and remove the cap from the geyser tube.

2️⃣ Put as many mentos into the geyser tube that will fit. Make sure the red notch is closed (pushed in) so that way the mentos does not fall out. Alternatively, you can use a regular test tube to fill with the mentos candies and use an index card to cover the opening. Make sure the candies are all laying flat.

3️⃣ Cover the geyser tube with the cap.

4️⃣ Open the soda bottle.

5️⃣ Attach your geyser tube (make sure the red notch is still pushed in). If you are using a test tube, make sure your index card is under the inverted test tube. Place and hold directly over the coke bottle opening.

6️⃣ Pull back the red notch of the geyser tube while holding the coke bottle steady. If you are using the test tube- slide out your index card. Now stand back (or run!) and watch the geyser in action!

Latest Posts:

Classes for Curious minds

A place for children to learn, experiment, explore and play

For children aged 3-12 years

Diet Coke & Mentos Geyser Experiment

Make a geyser at home with diet coke and mentos. This super simple and fun science experiment will amaze your friends and family.

January 2018

You Will Need:

• Roll of mentos
• 2 litre bottle of diet coke
• Piece of paper
• Playing card

This experiment should be carried out outside as it will make a mess!

The Experiment

• Open your bottle of diet coke
• Place the bottle upright on flat ground
• Unwrap the whole roll of mentos
• Roll the piece of paper into a tube just wide enough to load the mentos into
• Hold the tube upright and cover the bottom of the tube with the card
• Hold the tube and card directly on top of the bottle with the tube aligned with the mouth of the bottle
• Drop about half a pack of mentos into the tube, keeping the card in position directly over the mouth of the bottle and covering the bottom of the tube
• Pull the card out from under the tube, letting the mentos drop into the bottle
• Run out of the way and watch as the geyser erupts!
• Repeat the experiment with different fizzy drinks and different amounts of mentos to see which produces the largest eruption!

The Science

Why do the mentos and diet coke erupt?

Diet coke is fizzy and bubbly because it contains carbon dioxide gas. This carbon dioxide is waiting to escape the liquid in the form of bubbles.

When you drop something into a bottle of soda, this process is sped up. The surface tension is broken and the bubbles leave the soda and attach to the object. This process is called nucleation, and the places where the bubbles form are called nucleation sites.As you drop the mentos into the soda, bubbles form all over the surface. Mentos are covered in loads of tiny dimples which increase the surface area and create more nucleation sites where nucleation occurs as carbon dioxide in the drink forms bubbles.

Loads of nucleation sites means more nucleation and loads of bubbles as the carbon dioxide leaves the soda and attaches to the mentos. Nucleation occurs to such a large extent that the gas that escapes from the soda and onto the mentos increases the pressure and pushes the liquid up and out of the bottle into a massive geyser!

Want More Epic Experiments? If you enjoyed this experiment and want to learn more about nucleation in greater detail, want more fun, more science, and more epic experiments,  enrol now  in our  science holiday camps  and spring term  science classes  where kids can learn, experiment, explore, and play!

Book your Holiday workshops and Term classes today!

Schools & Nurseries

Start a Science or Little Maths club to your school/nursery

We offer tailor-made tutoring to students of Chemistry, Physics, Biology and Maths.

Latest News

We published our first book: FULL OF BRAINS!

Holiday Science Camps

AGES 4-12 YEARS

find out more and enrol

Science Term Classes

AGES 3-4 YEARS AGES 4-7 YEARS AGES 8-12 YEARS

Schools & Nursery Clubs

AGES 3-4 YEARS AGES 4-12 YEARS

Our website uses cookies to give you a better customer experience. By continuing we will assume you are happy with receiving all cookies. ACCEPT You can get more information on cookies HERE

• Book Activities
• Rhymes/Songs
• SCIENCE/STEM

Monday, February 20, 2012

Science experiment: diet coke and mentos geyser.

• Diet Coke (you will want several bottles!)
• Mint-flavored Mentos  (at least two rolls!)
• Other mix-ins  (rock salt, nails, and other candy are interesting ones, but let your child choose what she wants to experiment with!)

17 comments:

I used the elephant toothpaste experiment with my four year olds for our science class. What a hit! The children loved it! I tried it out first with my own 11 year old and she wanted to do it over and over. Thank you for posting this experiment. It is sometimes hard to find new things to try with younger children

Hi Michelle! I'm so glad you were able to enjoy it at home and school! Thank you so much for letting me know! I hope you continue to find useful ideas here!

Fun! We saw this done at the AZ State Fair a few years ago as part of a huge performance. It was amazing! Thanks for linking up at Family Time Tuesday!

Janice, that sounds like fun! This is one my kids love doing, and...I'll admit...I enjoy the fountain in the backyard too!

This is one of my husband's favorite activities. I'll have to remember to do it with my own preschoolers.

Mama Jodi, I love how it is as much fun for the "grown-ups" as for the kids!

I've heard of this but haven't done it yet...and I love your explanation! I hope you don't mind that I pinned it so I can do it in the future. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks so much for pinning this, Kristie!

I've seen this done, and it's always SOO much fun.:)

I completely agree Shiloh! It never gets old!

Thanks for linking up at Thinky Linky Thursday this week! We are happy to have your ideas. Lori @ Cachey Mama’s Classroom

this has been on my to-do list for forever! such fun, huh? thanks for linking up to tip-toe thru tuesday!

Lori, I love Thinky Linky! Andie Jaye, I'm so glad I found tip-toe thru tuesday!

Thanks for linking to Busy Monday at A Pinch of Joy! Great idea to string the mentos together! Good explanation of the experiment, too. Pinned this. Can't wait to see what you have for this week's party!

I LOVE doing this experiment! Thanks for linking up to Fun Stuff Fridays!

Congrats, this post has been featured on Thinky Linky Thursday. Go to my blog to see and get your “featured” button! Lori @ Cachey Mama’s Classroom

Thanks, Charlene! Me too, Jamie! Lori, That's awesome! Thanks!

Post a Comment

A Dinosaur Made Me Spill-- a new picture book!!

Email Newsletter

Subscribe to our {FREE} weekly newsletter to get the latest updates to your inbox!

Your email address is safe with us!

Connect With Us

Search this blog, popular posts.

Amazon Affiliate

Please note, awesome affiliates.

Designed By Blogtipsntricks . In Association With Tozilnutpam and Praverb Dot Net .

© 2012 Preschool Powol Packets