Mentos and Soda Explosion

Experiments have always

been really fascinating to me.
While reading about matter, I
ran across the terms physical
change and chemical change.
After we read this chapter, we
had a discussion about what
process Mentos reacting with
diet coke would be. Like a lot of
people, I thought that this
reaction was a chemical process
but I was wrong. This is actually
a physical process. (Chapter 3
Discussion: Mentos and Coke)
A physical property is a
unique to the substance and its
observable. Examples of this
Figure 1: Mentos and Coke Explosion would include color, state, or
melting point. A chemical property
ends up forming a new substance because the composition of the substance might
end up changing as well. Examples of this would include rusting of steel or
flammability. Subheadings for these properties would include chemical and
physical changes. I physical change would be one in which the physical properties
end up changing whereas chemical changes are ones in which chemical properties
end up changing. A physical change might be something as simple as the boiling of
water and a chemical change could be something like different gases like helium
combining with oxygen or hydrogen. (Chapter 3 Video Notes PDF)
The reason why this experiment is a physical process is due to a process
called nucleation. Nucleation is where the carbon dioxide in the soda tries to
escape the liquid. When the carbon dioxide is trying to escape the liquid, it is
attracted towards any tiny bumps called nucleation sites, that it can grab onto.
These nucleation sites are where bubbles start forming after the gas has grabbed
on. Since Mentos are full of sugar, there are many nucleation sites present in this
candy. That means that as soon as you drop a Mentos into soda, the carbon dioxide
will start filling up the nucleation sites and start creating bubbles. Since Mentos are
heavier than soda, they sink all the way to the bottom. Since Mentos react all the
way to the bottom, an extreme number of bubbles are formed which also create a
lot of pressure inside the soda bottle. Due to this extreme pressure, soda and
Mentos react with each other and explode.

Sources
Diet Coke and Mentos Eruption. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4
Aug. 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_Coke_and_Mentos_eruption
The Science of Coke and Mentos. EepyBird.com,
http://www.eepybird.com/featured-video/coke-and-mentos-featured-
video/science-of-coke-mentos/
SLCC Canvas Chemistry Course: Discussion- Ch. 3- Mentos and Coke
SLCC Canvas Chemistry Course: Chapter 3 Section 3.1 to 3.2 Video
Lecture Notes