Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                

Diet Coke & Mentos Geyser Lab 2011-2012

Download as doc, pdf, or txt
Download as doc, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 4

Background information

The thing that makes soda bubbly is invisible carbon dioxide gas that has dissolved into the water. The carbon dioxide gas (CO2) is pumped into bottles at the bottling factory using tons of pressure. The gas mostly stays dissolved in the liquid and cannot expand to form more bubbles, which gases naturally do, until you open the bottle and pour out the soda. If you shake the bottle and then open it, the gas is released from the protective hold of the water molecules and escapes with a whoosh, taking some of the soda along with it. Warm soda tends to fizz much more than cold soda. Why? The warmer the liquid, the less gas can be dissolved in that liquid. The colder the liquid, the more gas can be dissolved in that liquid. This is because when the liquid is heated, the gas within that liquid is also heated, causing the gas molecules to move faster and faster. So, they will diffuse (move) out of the liquid, leaving less gas dissolved in that liquid. In colder liquids the gas molecules are moving very slowly, causing them to diffuse out of solution much more slowly, and more gas tends to stay in solution. At the bottling plant, carbon dioxide is pumped into the cans or bottles when the fluid is very coldaround 35 degrees Fahrenheit. This low temperature allows the maximum amount of carbon dioxide to dissolve in the soda. What other ways can you cause the gas to escape? The CO2 that's dissolved in the water of any carbonated drink can be driven out by adding something else to that. For example, adding salt to soda causes it to foam up because thousands of little bubbles form on the surface of each grain of salt. Why? No matter how smooth a solid substance may feel to you or me, they have tiny pits are called nucleation sites. Nucleation sites are places where the carbon dioxide can make bubbles. A nucleation site can also be a scratch, a speck of dust, tiny cracks, or crevices. The increase in the formation of bubbles causes the CO2 to rapidly degas (opposite of adding gas to a liquid using pressure) out of the liquid, taking some of the liquid with it. Why then Mentos? Each Mentos candy has thousands of tiny pits all over the surface. In other words each candy has thousand of nucleation sites. As soon as the Mentos hit the soda, the liquid in the bottle comes into contact (touches) with the candy. Then the trapped gas leaves the liquid and forms bubbles at the nucleation sites that are all over the surface of the candy. Also, Mentos candies are heavy and sink to the bottom of the bottle. When all this gas is released, it literally pushes all of the liquid up and out of the bottle in an incredible soda blast.
This information was taken directly from the following web sites: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000109 http://www.smm.org/buzz/buzz_tags/nucleation_sites

Mentos and Diet Coke Geyser Lab


Name:_________________________________________ Period:_________________

1) Question: What effect does temperature have on the Diet Coke and Mentos explosion height? 2) Hypothesis: ______________ Diet Coke and Mentos will make a higher geyser. Hot/Cold (you have to choose one of the two) Independent Variable:______________________________________________________ Dependent Variable:_______________________________________________________ 3) Materials (per test/per group):
8 1 8 8 8 1 1 1 x 2 L bottle of Diet Coke Thermometer Mentos Geyser Tube x 5 Mentos candies Paper Napkins Launch Pad Giant Measuring Stick Data Table (per student)

4) Procedure: Inside: 1. Understand your role in this experiment: Coke Handler (A), Thermometer Handler (B), Data Recorder/Mentos holder(C), and the Mentos dropper(D). 2. Coke Handler (A) carefully retrieves Diet Coke from the corner of the room (do not shake or drop!). 3. Mentos holder (C) receives exactly 5 Mentos in a paper napkin. 4. All students line up at the door in two lines (quietly) with the following: Data Table Pencil/Pen Packed-up backpacks on their back. Failure to be quiet in the hallway or outside will result in you losing 20-30 points from your lab grade (100 points)! Coke handler MUST carefully carry the Diet Coke outside without dropping it! Outside Experimentation & Measurement: 1. Line up shoulder to should by table number on the sidewalk outside Mr. Leerssens room. 2. When it is your tables turn (starting with table 1), step onto the grass near the launcher.

Coke Handler GENTLY places the Coke on the launch pad and carefully takes the cap off. 4. The Thermometer handler will get the thermometer from Mr. Logan and take the temperature of their Diet Coke 5. The Mentos dropper will place 5 Mentos in the geyser tube, then Mr. Logan will attach the geyser tube to your Diet Coke. 6. Mentos dropper (D) pulls then pin when told to do so. 7. Students watch for maximum height achieved. 8. All Data Recorders write down results and observations then share with group members. 9. Coke handler recaps the Diet Coke bottle and places it on the grass 10. Repeat until all teams are finished.
3.

If everyone is calm and on task, we can drink the Diet Coke before going back in. 6) Data: See Table 1 7) Observations: (5 senses.): What were the materials like before you add them together? ________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ What happened when you added the materials? ___________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Were there any mistakes or errors? If yes, what were they? __________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 8) Observation Analysis Question: Does changing the temperature of Diet Coke have an effect on the height of the geyser? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

Table 1: Diet Coke & Mentos Fountain results Bottle Temperature Height of Observations # of Geyser Diet Coke (m) o ( C)

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8)

10) Conclusion HINT: if you are having trouble writing your conclusion, start off by re-stating your hypothesis. Then answer the following questions as they relate to your hypothesis. What happened during the experiment? What went as planned? What problems did your group/class encounter? If given the chance to go back, how would you fix this problem? What did you learn? How did you learn this? How would you conduct another related experiment next, knowing what you know after completing this lab?

You might also like