Mentos Geyser (Take Two)

 - by KitchenPantryScientist

We tried to make a Mentos geyser again-and it worked! (Last time we tried it with 7-UP and had less-than-spectacular results.)  Here’s the (very short) video of our experiment and how to make your own Mentos geyser.  I can see why this is many people’s favorite science experiment ever!

If you want to try this experiment, you’ll need a two liter bottle of Diet Coke, a roll of  Mentos mints and a piece of paper.  Remove the lid from the soda and set it on a flat surface (outside!)  Roll the paper so it will fit into the mouth of the bottle and fill it with the Mentos.  Quickly dump the mints into the bottle and stand back.  Hopefully, you’ll see a huge gyser of soda shoot up from the mouth of the bottle!

Scientists aren’t sure exactly why the Mentos cause such an explosive reaction, but they think it has to do with chemicals in the Mentos breaking the surface tension at the same time that carbon dioxide (CO2) bubbles form on the surface of the mints, causing a huge, very fast release of carbon dioxide bubbles.

Here’s a funny video you won’t want to miss of a car running on the power of the Diet Coke/Mentos reaction.

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