Sunday, 10 May 2009
Coke+Mentos ♥
9:17 pm
Recently, our class carried out the famous 'Coke+Mentos' experiment, and it was a big success!! I didn't take any pics, but you can go to Stella's blog or Janelle's blog to look at them.
Diet Coke and Mentos Eruption (also known as a Mentos eruption or a coke geyser) is a reaction of Diet Coke and mint Mentos candies, a two-liter bottle of Diet Coke (other carbonated beverages may be used instead; Diet Coke is preferred because it tends to react better) and dropping some Mentos into the bottle, usually around four. This causes the Diet Coke to foam at a rapid rate and spew into the air. Mint-flavored Mentos are used, as fruit-flavored Mentos have a smooth coating which slows the reaction.A variation of this experiment consists of making the bottle rocket up by closing the cap shortly after Mentos is inserted and then slamming the bottle into the ground cap first. The explosion will generate a reaction like a rocket.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_Coke_and_Mentos_eruption)
My group tried to find out whether the number of mentos inserted into the diet coke affected the height of the 'fountain'. After conducting the experiment, we realised that the number of mentos indeed had an effect, but this effect had a limit until all the gas of the coke is used up, and the height of the fountain no longer differs by much.
The MythBuster's explanation for this phenomenal occurance is that "he caffeine, potassium benzoate, aspartame, and CO2 gas contained in the Diet Coke and the gelatin and gum arabic ingredients of the Mentos all contribute to the jet effect.n addition, the MythBusters theorized that the physical structure of the Mentos is the most significant cause of the eruption due to nucleation. When flavored Mentos with a smooth waxy coating were tested in carbonated water, no reaction occurred, whereas standard Mentos added to carbonated water formed a small eruption, by their claim, affirming the nucleation-site theory. According to the MythBusters, the surface of the mint Mentos is littered with many small holes, allowing CO2 bubbles to form very rapidly and in great quantity, in turn causing the jet of foam. This was further supported when rock salt was used as an effective substitute for Mentos."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_Coke_and_Mentos_eruption)