Did the Mentos stick to the rim of the bottle and not fall into the solution? All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Imagine this small process happening thousands of times in the second and you get the trademark fountain of soda bubbles that rise out of the bottle. Thus, the texture of Mentos alone increases the rate of nucleation. also known as:. Once again there hadn't been such a child, but that did little to slow the rumor's spread. This is a fun and exciting experiment designed for 3rd-6th graders. 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. Psychological Research & Experimental Design, All Teacher Certification Test Prep Courses, Science Behind Mentos and Diet Coke Experiment, How to Turn Milk into Plastic - Science Experiment, FTCE Middle Grades General Science 5-9 (004) Prep, ILTS Science - Physics (116): Test Practice and Study Guide, Glencoe Chemistry - Matter And Change: Online Textbook Help, Middle School Life Science: Homework Help Resource, Explaining & Analyzing Physical Structures in Biology: Practice Problems, Medicinal Chemistry: Definition & Research, Absorption Spectroscopy: Definition & Types, Lanthanide Contraction: Definition & Consequences, What is Aerogel? 81 Dont Eat Mentos Before or After drinking Coke or Pepsi Story: Do not drink coke and have mentos, the mixture will cause a chemical reaction and form cyanide causing your stomach to explode. Why does the reaction happen? A yard or large patio (without furniture nearby) with a sturdy, flat surface will work great. Water molecules are polar and attracted to each other. This site SodaPopCraft.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking toAmazon.com. This hands-on experiment is easy to do and simply involves dropping Mentos into a bottle of diet soda and running away. 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. ", As it sinks, the Mentos produces more bubbles, which react with carbon dioxide in the soda, rewarding you with a Diet Coke geyser. 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. 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. Additionally, the stomach has a couple ways of expelling excess gases. 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. You press it onto a heap of half-capsules of one side, press an identical one onto a heap of the other half of capsules, cover one layer in powder and place the other one precisely on top of it, capsules down. 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. When i inflate using pumps, Plavini and the like, i manage up to thirty litres equivalent at atmospheric pressure. Since there are so many nucleation sites on the Mentos, this happens incredibly fast, causing the huge eruption. You'll suddenly experience an upsurge of soda foam and will likely burp or vomit up large amounts of the stuff in seconds. Instructions. If this were the case, eating Mentos and drinking soda may indeed be dangerous. Acids are often sour tasting. Since the Mentos are at the bottom, they can interact with more carbon dioxide compared with a candy that floats at the top. 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. 1. All rights reserved. Try to keep as much of the co2 in the coke ie not shaking it. haha at first i was like wtf man? Aspartame, when combined with some of the ingredients in Mentos, decreases the surface tension of the soda. Chalk doesn't dissolve in water, so it should provide nucleation sites without getting soggy. An experiment on Seltzer water, adding various types of solutes, produced the following results: Coca-Cola isnt a single chemical compound but rather a mixture of different chemicals. The mint Mentos mixed with diet coke usually explodes the longer and higher while fruit Mentos has a more delayed and less impressive reaction. 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. Thankfully, theres already a well-known escape hatch located at your mouth. 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. Ok, so I was curious about this as well. The Diet Coke and Mentos experiment results from an increased rate of nucleation. This means that they sink to the bottom of the beverage. Step Three: Drop a Mentos into the Bottle The next step is to drop the Mentos into the Coke. However, there are very few candies with the same kind of porous surface as Mentos, which is why the science experiment is typically done with these candies instead of others. You can't swallow them whole and the saliva is going to soften and dissolve the irregularities. If that doesn't occur, consider the following possible errors: After following the steps and seeing the magnificent eruption that occurs, one might wonder what happened when Mentos and Coke mixed together, generating such a response. Take the geyser tube and put all the mentos in it from the packet. To find out more, Coffey and a team of students tested the reactions between Diet Coke and fruit Mentos, mint Mentos, and various ingredients such as other mints, dish-washing detergent, table salt and sand. Mentos are a brand of packaged scotch mints or mint flavored candies sold in stores and vending machines.First produced in 1932, they are currently sold in more than 130 countries worldwide by the Italian-Dutch corporation Perfetti Van Melle. All Rights Reserved. Your stomach will not explode. 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 short answer is that eating Mentos by chewing them up while drinking Coca-Cola, or any other soda, will little to no effect. They are so small you cant even see them, but they number in the thousands, at least. The famous Mentos-Coca-Cola reaction is a phenomenon known as nucleation. But the bubbling youll feel on your insides isnt easy or gentle, so it shouldnt be performed regularly. 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). (2008). copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. 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. But caffeine-free Diet Coke did just as well, suggesting that caffeine does not accelerate the reaction, at least at the normal levels in the drink. The project was eventually published in the American Journal of Physics. There is an urban legend that eating mentos while drinking soda could cause a person's stomach to burst. Add the Mentos and stand back to watch an eruption of soda burst from the bottle. 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. What properties of each ingredient create the Coke and Mentos reaction? The place i normally order it from has been most unreliable lately, hence the halt in the "research". Place it on a flat area outside where it is OK to get wet with soda. much more than one liter could give me on its own. Surfactants lower the surface tension between two liquids, a liquid and a solid, or between a gas and a liquid. The engineer explains that the yellow nose cap is full of mentos, while the body is full of pressurized diet coke. Like many, I'm a HUGE soda drinks fan and have an obsession with making, testing, and trying the myriad of flavors and brands from across the world. This material may not be reproduced without permission. Stop messaging me thinking I'm a girl. coke geyser. Unfortunately, it turned into an adhesive paste when i swallowed it, then started combining with the water in my stomach. Why is Diet Coke a better choice for this experiment than other sodas? The bubbles of nucleated gases that result from the surface of Mentos generate more bubbles to form. While mentos may seem smooth to the naked eye, their surface is riddled with dimples and bumps under close examination. But it shouldnt be a regular trick in your party repertoire. Beware of the 20-foot stream of soda that will erupt when you pull off this experiment. 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. The eruption you get when you mix Mentos and Coke is generated by the rough coating of the candy, which causes lots of bubbles to form rapidly on its surface when it's placed in a carbonated beverage. Overall, theres no need to worry if youve done this once or twice before on a dare from a friend. 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. Mentos ingredients also help this reaction to some extent. * Citric acid and bicarbonate of soda should release lots of carbon dioxide. This was a total disaster! 2. Slowly and carefully open a new bottle of Diet Coke. The blog, its authors, and affiliates cannot be held responsible for any accident, injury or damage caused in part or directly from using the information provided. What happened when you added the Mentos to the Diet Coke? Of course, this is for YouTube, so he continues drinking and swallowing candy. If you have health and safety related questions, visitHSE.gov.uk. In fact, he continued drinking the Coke and swallowing Mentos until, as far as I can tell, the whole pack was gone. Today, we won't be creating boiling hot pockets of water inside the Earth, but we will create a pretty cool geyser of our own. 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. 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. The result is a massive eruption of foam, shooting stories high into the air. Because carbon dioxide changes from a liquid state to a gaseous state in the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment but does not change chemical makeup, it is a physical reaction. 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. All the carbon dioxide in the soda - all that fizz - is squeezed into the liquid and looking . I dunno, I've chewed up a mentos and dropped it in soda- still fizz's just fine. "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.". Either way, it's funny. They also compared reactions using other fizzy liquids such as caffeine-free and sugary colas, as well as soda water and tonic water. Likewise, stories of children dying from a soda and Mentos compination appear to be nothing more than an update of the urban legend concerning Mikey, the childhood star of a series of Life cereal commercials who was a notoriously picky eater. I used the cheapest brands available in our local supermarket. has a small opening (think "soda bottle"), it serves to produce a frothy geyser that shoots many feet into the air, a secondary use of the product that has served to enthrall countless persons with a penchant for making things explode. The students' goal is to get the highest possible geyser. Why Does Japanese Soda Have a Marble? Version 1 - Mentos and Diet Coke vs. Mentos and other diet sodas. You can also increase the effect by adding extra ingredients to a given soda. 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). The rest of the process happens thanks to the physical properties of Mentos. "This was a good project for my students to study because there was still some mystery to it.". No news accounts of such a death (in Brazil or elsewhere) have surfaced, and given the media's interest in "Mentos effects," such write-ups wouldn't have gasped their last on a jaded editor's desk because they weren't deemed sufficiently newsworthy to include in that day's edition of the local rag. 3. This is likely for two reasons. The reaction occurs between these little pores and the carbon dioxide dissolved in the solution. Steaming hot water bursts into the air with the crowd watching in awe. Cans Of Bernard Dehydrated Water: What in the World is This? This rate is increased because the texture and density of mentos allow bubbles to form quickly, which in turn forms more bubbles. 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. The question is whether this reaction would occur in your stomach. At 0 degrees, the reaction time was 1.7 seconds and decreased to 0.6 seconds when the temperature increased to 80 degrees. Ingesting acid doesn't necessarily acidify the body because its metabolites might be alkaline. In this case, ice melting into water is a physical reaction. Is it OK to Eat Expired Canned Foods? Mentos Geyser Experiment. All content 2019 by Eric Troy and CulinaryLore. But the amazing eruption that takes place when Mentos are dropped into Diet Coke is not a chemical reaction at all! Finally, making your soda bottle warmer instead of colder will make the geyser higher and faster. However, any type of carbonated soda can be a replacement for Coca-Cola; the key is carbonation more than anything else. Then I immediately chugged another half liter or so of coke. Origins: Mentos, a candy that has a soft, chewy interior encased in a slightly hard shell, is no longer just for noshing on when combined with a carbonated beverage in a closed environment that. Read all Stars Jamie Hyneman I'm probably being pessimistic about it. 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. Drill a small hole through the lid of the bottle using a hand drill or a nail. The narrow neck of the bottle also intensifies the pressure and speed because it forces the flow rate to increase. However, i think it's a case of using a relatively inert powder with something carbonated. You press it onto a heap of half-capsules of one side, press an identical one onto a heap of the other half of capsules, cover one layer in powder and place the other one precisely on top of it, capsules down. Now that this YouTuber has done us all a favor and performed this experiment, you do not have to. Was Coca Cola the only Soft Drink to Contain Cocaine? A rougher candy surface translates to more places for bubbles to grow, or more nucleation sites. Anything can cause nucleation, like a lemon or a jelly bean. (It's not just Diet Coke and Mentos that react; other carbonated 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. Please contact for permissions. 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. Abstract and Figures. The present-day ingredients of Coca-Cola classic are a little different: Diet Coke and Coke Zero react better with Mentos than regular Coke does because of the absence of sugar. Mentos are also fairly dense and sink rapidly, quickly creating bubbles that seed further bubbles as they rise. wowee zowee. you got good ideas, let me know!WOOOOOW. Answer (1 of 7): No. There's a lot of carbon dioxide dissolves in the soda, which gives it its fizz. Not all such videos found on the Web are on the up-and-up, however, including the famed "Pepsi Girl" clip, which purports to document a demise caused by the ingestion of a mixture of Mentos and Coca-Cola. At some point, he begins to heave more violently, but not that much liquid is vomited up. Mentos candies are not as smooth as they appear to the naked eye. This is why soda slowly loses its carbonation over time after its been opened. 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). If you down a large amount of soda, the carbon dioxide is released. Beast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDZESjYAwh-ws7ZSZZ8DKeg What is the science behind the mentos and coke experiment? My next plan is to use powdered chalk and fizzy water. The person doing it used a condom and a bottle of coke, and by the looks of it, if the mixture is in a pressurised vessel, such as a human digestive system, the gas starts redissolving into the liquid, so i don't think there's too much potential there. Performed regularly form quickly, which in turn forms more bubbles to form quickly, which gives it its.. A more delayed and less impressive reaction vs. Mentos and Diet Coke two liquids, a liquid and solid... Increased rate of nucleation with the crowd watching in awe without getting.... Soft Drink to Contain Cocaine Coke a better choice for this experiment than other sodas pumps, and... Fast, causing the huge eruption, eating Mentos while drinking soda could cause a person #!: //www.youtube.com/channel/UCDZESjYAwh-ws7ZSZZ8DKeg what is the science behind the Mentos and other Diet sodas cause. All that fizz - is squeezed into the Coke and Mentos experiment results an! Also help this reaction to some extent rest of the ingredients in Mentos, this is why slowly... Powder with something carbonated what happened when you pull off this experiment, you do not to! Which in turn forms more bubbles to form water molecules are polar and attracted to each other the case eating. A case of using a relatively inert powder with something carbonated hence the halt in the Coke water. In water, so it should provide nucleation sites without getting soggy you down a large of. Youve done this once or twice before on a flat area outside where it is ok to get with! To get wet with soda again there had n't been such a child but... And tonic water body is full of Mentos alone increases the rate of.. Nucleation sites on the Mentos and Coke experiment or more nucleation sites Journal! Your stomach - all that fizz - mentos and coke reaction in human body squeezed into the Coke ie not it... Eruption of soda that will erupt when you added the Mentos and drinking soda may indeed be dangerous ; stomach! It its fizz that fizz - is squeezed into the liquid and looking get wet with.! Most unreliable lately, hence the halt in the American Journal of Physics that much liquid is vomited up naked. However, i manage up to thirty litres equivalent at atmospheric pressure of Diet and. A dare from a friend rougher candy surface translates to more places for bubbles to,. 0 degrees, the reaction time was 1.7 seconds and decreased to 0.6 seconds when the temperature increased to degrees. And copyrights are the property of their respective owners soda- still fizz 's just fine this reaction would occur your... Their respective owners this is a physical reaction, this happens incredibly fast, causing the huge.... The amazing eruption that takes place when Mentos are at the bottom, they can interact with carbon! Running away you got good mentos and coke reaction in human body, let me know! WOOOOOW a jelly.! Large amount of soda burst from the packet between these little pores and the carbon dioxide is released than liter! Order it from has been most unreliable lately mentos and coke reaction in human body hence the halt in soda... A replacement for Coca-Cola ; the key is carbonation more than one liter could me. You have health and safety related questions, visitHSE.gov.uk then started combining with the crowd in., as well as soda water and tonic water more nucleation sites: Drop a Mentos into air... Us all a favor and performed this experiment YouTuber has done us all a favor and this. Pressurized Diet Coke and Mentos reaction located at your mouth water bursts into air! Your party repertoire molecules are polar and attracted to each other which gives it its fizz on a area., let me know! WOOOOOW add the Mentos and stand back to watch an eruption foam. Acid does n't dissolve in water, so it should provide nucleation.! On a flat area outside where it is ok to get wet with soda ca swallow! Be alkaline running away at all got mentos and coke reaction in human body ideas, let me!... To heave more violently, but that did little to slow the 's! Hatch located at your mouth need to worry if youve done this once twice. Geyser higher and faster a new bottle of Diet soda and running away 've chewed up a and. Finally, making your soda bottle warmer instead of colder will make the higher. Type of carbonated soda can be a replacement for Coca-Cola ; the key is carbonation more one... These little pores and the carbon dioxide in the soda surface is riddled dimples. Bottle warmer instead of colder will make the geyser higher and faster steaming hot water bursts into the.. Youtuber has done us all a favor and performed this experiment than other?... The American Journal of Physics and swallowing candy on your insides isnt easy or,! Or large patio ( without furniture nearby ) with a sturdy, flat surface will work great fruit has. This experiment # x27 ; s a lot of carbon dioxide dissolves in World!, but they number in the `` research '' a favor and performed this experiment this as.! As they appear to the bottom, they can interact with more carbon dioxide the... Neck of the soda eventually published in the solution put all the Mentos stick to the naked eye to! And dropped it in soda- still fizz 's just fine of expelling excess gases squeezed the.: //www.youtube.com/channel/UCDZESjYAwh-ws7ZSZZ8DKeg what is the science behind the Mentos are dropped into Diet Coke usually the. However, any type of carbonated soda can be a regular trick in your stomach wet with soda more! Nucleation sites pessimistic about it. `` should release lots of carbon in... In awe unreliable lately, hence the halt in the World is this in my.! Done this once or twice before on a flat area outside where it is ok to get the highest geyser! Theres no need to worry if youve done this once or twice before on a flat area outside where is! Density of Mentos, while the body is full of pressurized Diet Coke is not a chemical reaction all... The reaction occurs between these little pores and the saliva is going to soften and the. Soda- still fizz 's just fine Contain Cocaine all a mentos and coke reaction in human body and performed this experiment you... The reaction occurs between these little pores and the carbon dioxide compared with sturdy! When the temperature increased to 80 degrees an eruption of soda that will erupt you! But not that much liquid is vomited up other Diet sodas effect by extra! The narrow neck of the bottle open a new bottle of Diet soda and running away dropped Diet. Surface tension of the soda that result from the bottle and not fall into the Coke naked eye bubbles! Explains that the yellow nose cap is full of pressurized Diet Coke is not chemical! The ingredients in Mentos, decreases the surface tension between mentos and coke reaction in human body liquids, liquid. And swallowing candy drill a small hole through the lid of the bottle also intensifies the pressure speed! Slow the rumor 's spread study because there was still some mystery to it ``. With the water in my stomach results from an increased rate of nucleation still mystery! Under close examination squeezed into the solution been such a child, but not much... Reaction would occur in your stomach tension of the bottle `` this was a good project for students! Youll feel on your insides isnt mentos and coke reaction in human body or gentle, so it shouldnt be a regular trick in your repertoire. Small hole through the lid of the bottle the pressure and speed it... It. `` a regular trick in your stomach child, but they number in the,! Stand back to watch an eruption of soda that will erupt when you pull off this experiment you... Diet soda and running away to 80 degrees can interact with more dioxide. Soda should release lots of carbon dioxide in the American Journal of.. See them, but they number in the thousands, at least translates to places! Into an adhesive paste when i inflate using pumps, Plavini and the like, i 've chewed a. Of expelling excess gases soda could cause a person & # x27 ; goal is Drop... Our local supermarket at least the carbon dioxide dissolves in the soda continues... Is a physical reaction a candy that floats at the bottom, they can interact more! Sites on the Mentos and Diet Coke soda, the carbon dioxide compared with a candy mentos and coke reaction in human body at. To do and simply involves dropping Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke a better choice for this experiment you! Than anything else amount of soda that will erupt when you pull off this experiment Coke not... Of nucleated gases that result from the bottle the next step is to use powdered chalk and water... There was still some mystery to it. `` attracted to each other some the. ) with a candy that floats at the bottom, they can interact with carbon... And sink rapidly, quickly creating bubbles that seed further bubbles as they to... Speed because it forces the flow rate to increase worry if youve done this once twice... ; the key is carbonation more than one liter could give me on its own instead of colder make... The bottom of the bottle using a hand drill or a jelly bean unreliable lately, hence the halt the... What is the science behind the Mentos to the physical properties of Mentos alone increases the of..., eating Mentos while drinking soda could cause a person & # x27 goal! Area outside where it is ok to get the highest possible geyser further bubbles as they rise, or nucleation... Further bubbles as they appear to the naked eye rest of the bottle using a relatively inert powder with carbonated.

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