Since the You Tube video of Mentos and diet coke went viral, everyone knows what happens when you combine these two tasty treats, but not everyone knows why they create a exploding geyser of foam. Leave it to the scientists at MythBusters to come up with a good theory about why this happens and to design a good test.
How did the guys at MythBusters use the scientific method to test their theory about the reaction of Mentos and Diet Coke? What experiment would you design to further explain the reason behind this reaction?
One reason this explsion happens is because there is much more carbon dioxide in diet coke versus any other sodas. Sodas such a pepsi maxx don't work because they have less sugar.
ReplyDeleteThe MythBusters' guys had the theory that mentos in diet coke explodes. I think the result is so powerful and explosive. The explosion could happen because the mentos has bumps on its shell, it traps the carbon dioxide and makes it escape a lot quicker than normal. That's why there is that white foamy stuff on the top, because the carbon dioxide(the fizziness) is escaping so quickly.
ReplyDeleteSue Oh
I liked how they compared the surface of the mentos to the surface of the moon. It gave a good visual and explanation of the most common theory of why this reaction occurs- which is called nucleation. Why can scientists figure out what seems like much more complex reactions than a simple mentos and diet coke reaction?
ReplyDeleteWhen they dropped the Mentos into the soda, the gelatin and gum arabic from the dissolving candy break the surface tension. It was interesting to know that mentos has thousands of tiny pits all over the surface. These tiny pits are called nucleation sites which makes perfect places for carbon dioxide bubbles to form. This also reminded me of a root bear float because of the bubbles.
ReplyDeleteThe Mythbusters used the scientific method by first, stating their theory of what was going to happen when a mento was put into coke. They said that the candy had little holes or "pits" that created a nucleation site or where the carbon dioxide buble forms and released causing the reaction. Then they tested their ideas with another kind of mento. It didnt work witht he colored mento because there was not pits, but can it work with another kind of candy mayb one that has like indented letters? Like smarties thoes are pitts right? They never said it had to do with what the candy was made of just the pitts. Also in the video it wasnt coke? it as just soda, so any soda? Like shelby said it doesnt work with the sugar sodas but how did the scientits find out it was coke? they like coke and only had it? andI wonder if this could happen in your mouth? What I would do next I would try i with carbonated water not soda. because these are 2 diffrent things also try it with my favorite soda, a soda with alot of sugar (just to make sure). Oh and Jk i re wated the video and it says that the pits are microscopic. So I am guessing like other candy as I suggested like "smarties wouldnt work".
ReplyDeleteArianna
I've tried this same experiment with pop rocks, and almost the same reaction occurred. The explosion wasn't nearly as large though, so there must not be as much CO2 released as there was with mint mentos.
ReplyDeleteIs it just the mint mentos that have the sites where CO2 is released? Or do fruit have the same reactions?
The guys from MythBusters used the scientific method when testing the mentos in soda. They created a hypothesis, guessing that the reaction was due to the microscopic pockets on the mentos. They also had a control experiment, with the original mint mento and the soda, and an experiment with the different kind of mento to see if that had a different reaction from the control experiment. To further this experiment, I would maybe try different types of soda, and keep experimenting with the two different types of mentos.
ReplyDeleteScientists could look at the inside of the mentos instead of just the outside. There could also be a reaction happening on the inside of the mentos. The scientist could also look at the diet coke itself and see what that contains in the ingredients to see if there is anything else besides carbon dioxide that is causing the explosion. I wonder if someone drank diet coke and ate mentos at the same time what would happen.
ReplyDeletethis is a confusing concept to me because they give the reason as the amount of indents in the mento as a reason, but that cant be all there is to it. That makes me think that if i put a Styrofoam ball in there of the same size it would cause the same reaction. Would it cause the same reaction?
ReplyDeletethe reason why they use diet coke is because it is very sugary and has lots of carbon dioxide. i really like this experiment because it is really to follow because it is so simple explanation of how the reaction occurs. My only question is what is in the mentos that takes part in the reaction.
ReplyDeleteI’m wondering what would happen if the opening of the bottle was wider, would the reaction be as impressive? The narrow opening seems to provide a channel for the “geyser effect.” If it did not serve as a guide, would the Cola simply bubble, or would it explode into the air as it does in the video? Also, what would happen if the cap was immediately put on after the Mento was thrown in? Would the force of the reaction be strong enough for the bottle to explode? Or would the reaction be subdued?
ReplyDeleteThis finally explained what so many people have been talking about. The visual of the mentos when they zoomed in of the "craters" the mentos provides and how the carbon dioxide escapes so quickly really helped. The more space that the bumpy mentos allows for more of a reaction because it gives more space for the carbon dioxide to release and leave than the smoothed over candy.
ReplyDeleteIf the mentos react with the diet coke because of their moon-like crevices, how come other things like mentos wouldn't react? For example, a Cadberry chocolate with holes that would certainley let CO2 in: how come this wouldn't set off such a huge reaction? What is it about mentos that causes this huge reaction besides the holes?
ReplyDeleteWhat makes the soda fly out of the bottle? Will you explode if you drink Coke and eat Mentos? i think we should do this in class!
ReplyDeleteI have seen the mentos and diet coke experiment video's many time where different people attempt it. I never knew why the candy reacts the way it does to the soda. It's because of the little craters that allow millions of little carbon dioxide bubbles to form and be released. I was surpised that multiple bubbles could form in a single crater. I wonder what other candy with the same properties could work.
ReplyDeleteEepy birds did a similar experiment, but this video is an actual show with diet coke and mentos, and I think it would be a really fun daily experiment to watch: http://www.eepybird.com/featured-video/the-extreme-diet-coke-mentos-experiments/
ReplyDelete