Mentos Temperature effects: Ten degree Celsius soda warming, ten degree mint cooling combined (+5%)

Ben Fazzina

Matt Clifford

Summary:

The experiment conducted was to test the effects of warming the temperature of coke and freezing the Mentos prior to a mentos eruption. Freezing the Mentos[1] and increasing the temperature of the coke[2] plays a large role in the reaction. In previous studies students found that heating the coke to 90C increased the height of the eruption by 57%[3] in comparison to coke at room temperature (21.111C). Other experiments showed that freezing the Mentos resulted in an eruption 65.5% higher than room temperature Mentos[4]. In this study, heating the coke to 284K and freezing the Mentos to 273K caused for an average increase in height of 5.4% in comparison to coke and Mentos at room temperature. This may be due to the fact that gases are less soluble in liquids with a higher temperature, hense why the reaction time was quicker.

Introduction:

The Diet Coke and Mentos eruption is a reaction between a carbonated beverage and Mentos candies that causes the beverage to spray out of its container. The gas released by the candies push all the liquid up and out of the bottle in a powerful soda blast[5]. The investigation tested the effects of heating the Coke and freezing the Mentos on the height of the eruption in comparison to the coke and Mentos at room temperature. Through research on previous experiments completed by GHS students, quantitative data was found that was similar to the data most recently discovered in the current experiment. It was found that if the soda is heated, the eruption to larger[6] in comparison to not being heated and also that when the Mentos are frozen the eruption is much smaller[7] in comparison to when they’re at room temperature. In the experiment coke was heated and the mentos were frozen, which resulted in an increase in height from the control experiment where the temperatures were both at room temperature.

Experimental Section:

1. Wrap 11 Mentos in a piece of aluminum foil and keep them in the freezer for as long as possible. Wrap 11 Mentos in aluminum foil and keep them at room temperature. Place a 2L bottle of Diet Coke in a hot bath of water for 5-10 minutes.
2. Set up the experimentation area, put the Diet Coke against the brick wall (un-opened) and have one place the unwrapped 11 Mentos at room temperature into the geyser tube. Open the soda. Carefully screw the geyser tube over the top of the Diet Coke and stand away while one partner releases the stop.
3. Observe the eruption and record the height in centimeters.
4. Repeat steps 1-4 using the 11 frozen Mentos wrapped in aluminum foil and the warmed Diet Coke. Conduct multiple trials to increase the validity of the results.

Results:

The results show a 5.4% increase when the Mentos and Diet Coke were altered compared to when they were at room temperature.

Conclusion

After completing the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment, it was discovered that altering the temperature of both the Mentos and the diet coke drastically improved the height of the eruption and improved the results.[2] The mentos that were frozen to 273K and the coke that was warmed to 302K erupted at an average height of 40.4 cm higher than the Diet Coke and Mentos that were at room temperature(298K). Both the cooled mentos and the warmed coke were tested at the same time. This shows that the height was truly affected by changing the temperature of both the diet coke and the mint mentos.[1]

However, there were experimental errors when conducting this test. The study did not test variables separately, therefore it is slightly unknown how both of the variables affected the experiment. Firstly, we did not make enough alterations to the Diet Coke and Mentos to further improve the data we received. Also, towards the end of the experiment, the amount of mentos in trial 5 was insufficient to the number we had done in the prior trials in both scenarios, therefore the height of the eruption decreased by just a few centimeters.

Endnotes:

[1] Warm mentos create a larger eruption when compared to colder and room temperature mentos. Tim K and Mike M, The Guilford Journal of Chemistry, volume 4 (2010).

[2] How the greater the temperature of diet coke, the higher the mentos eruption will be. Patty J and Sean K, The Guilford Journal of Chemistry, volume 4 (2010).

[3] Heating a bottle of diet coke will increase the height by 57%. Jamie S and Travis M, The Guilford Journal of Chemistry, volume 4 (2010).

[4] Room Temperature Mentos Erupts 65.5% Higher than Frozen Mentos In the Diet Coke and Mentos Eruption, the Standard Geyser Tube Erupted 77% Higher Than the Modified (smaller diameter) Nozzle

By: Leer P, Samantha Z, Kayleigh D, The Guilford Journal of Chemistry, volume 7 (2013).

[5] Page 62 (2011). iii Coffey, Tonya. Diet Coke and Mentos: What is Really behind this Physical Reaction? Am. J. Phys, Vol. 76, No.