Science Fair Time

Today we performed an experiment that was inspired by Mythbusters.

No we didn't blow anything up!

Question: Will mint or fruit flavored Mentos candy cause the bigger soda fountain when added to diet cola?

Hypothesis: Most of us thought the mint would work better because it is not as smooth.

Procedure:

1. Unscrew soda lids.

2. Hold up double yardstick near soda.

3.Grasp 3 mentos in one hand and drop into soda.

4. Measure how high it goes!

5. Repeat with other flavor of candy & a new bottle of pop.

Results:

The mint soda fountain reached beyond our double yardstick... about 89 inches!! (That's about 7 and a half feet!! ) only 1 cup and 110 ml remained in the bottle.

The fruit soda fountain only reached a height of 39 inches...about 3 feet. There were 2 cups left of soda in the bottle.

NOTE...

We made a mistake in our experiment. Only 1 fruit mento was dropped into the bottle

Conclusion:

Our hypothesis was correct. We watched Mythbusters afterwards where they explained that the cause of this reaction was NUCLEATION. Little bubbles of CO2 from the soda attach themselves to the pits in the candy and cause the reaction. The fruit candy is less pitted therefore it doesn't work as well.

If students wish to complete a science project AT HOME the proposal for this project is due on MONDAY. This is an optional extra credit assignment. We will be doing some science projects in groups in class to enter in the science fair.