Mentos & Diet Coke Science Experiment {as seen on Jacksonville Moms Blog}

Recently I wrote a post for the Jacksonville Moms Blog highlighting some of my favorite science experiments for big kids.  These were all done for the Mad Science Party we threw for Cole's 8th birthday.  Here are the details for the Mentos & Diet Coke Experiment.

Mentos & Diet Coke Explosion

Materials: Mentos Candy, Diet Coke (you don’t need to need name brand soda, the generic diet will work but it MUST be diet to create the explosion), Geyser Tube Cap (optional, but it’s really cool)

Directions: This is an easy experiment that the kids can do by themselves. Simply drop the Mentos into the diet soda bottle and watch it erupt. The geyser tube is an awesome addition to the experiment because it makes the stream shoot even higher in the air.

Why it works: It’s due to a process called nucleation, where the carbon dioxide in the soda is attracted to the Mentos. That creates so much pressure that the soda goes flying.