Mentos And Coke

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ADD MENTOS TO COKE? LETS FIND OUT!

EQUIPMENT

• 1 tube of mint Mentos
• A 2L bottle of Diet Coke
• Blue tack

METHOD

1. Take a full packet of mint Mentos and Blu-tack each mint to the next one in a straight line
2. Open a bottle of Diet Coke
3. Quickly drop the Mentos into the bottle in one go. Step back quickly and watch it erupt!

THE SCIENCE

The Diet Coke has carbon dioxide dissolved in it (under pressure), this is what makes it fizzy.

The surface of each Mentos has lots of tiny pits all over it (a bit like a golf ball). When we drop the Mentos into the Diet Coke, bubbles of carbon dioxide gas collect on the surfaces of the sweets and in the tiny pits. The Mentos sink because they are denser than the Diet Coke, and the gas bubbles quickly rise to the surface. Liquid is pushed out of the way and shoots out of the bottle!