General Chemistry

Performance Task 5B

Narrative Report

October 17, 2023

Mentos and Cola Eruption

11 STEM-A

Proponents:

Aragon, Mharr A.

Maniego, Lian S.

Feolog, Ronniella L.

Tria, Rosalie M.

Presented to:

Mr. Verjel Macayan

 Course Subject Teacher

Materials:
One roll of Mentos and 1.5-L bottle of Cola were gathered and prepared.
Procedures:
The mentos were unwrapped.

The mentos were rolled up in a piece of paper.

The rolled paper was placed on the mouth of the bottle with another paper
supporting it.

The supporting paper was quickly removed causing for the mentos candy to get
into the bottle and sink.
Five seconds after they sunk, more and more carbon dioxide was produced. It freed
and created even more bubbled causing an eruption.

More and more bubbles were created after 5 seconds, and the eruption continued.
On the 15th seconds, the eruption started to slow down and eventually stopped.

The bubbles that were not able to come out popped and returned down.
After that, the eruption completely ended, and everything started to settle at the
bottom.
Guide Questions:
1. Is the eruption a result of an acid-base reaction like the vinegar and baking
soda eruption? Why?
No, because the reaction between the vinegar and baking soda results in the
formation of carbon dioxide. Unlike on the Mentos and soda, carbon dioxide
was already present on the two, but it seems to suddenly react.

The eruption that occurs when Mentos are dropped into cola is not the result
of an acid-base reaction like vinegar and baking soda. Instead, it's a physical
reaction caused by the rapid release of carbon dioxide gas from the soda due
to the rough surface of the Mentos candies serving as nucleation sites for gas
bubbles to form.

2. What is inside Mentos and Cola that reacts with each other, causing the
eruption?
When the soda bottle is closed, there's gas that is dissolved in the soda and is
floating above the soda's liquid level. The gas escapes when the cap is
opened because of the pressure that maintains it in place and locked inside.
Due to its density, Mentos sinks swiftly when placed into liquid. The amount
of gas and speed at which it is released causes an impressive geyser effect.

The ingredients in Mentos and cola that lead to the eruption are the carbon
dioxide dissolved in the cola and the porous structure of Mentos. When you
 drop Mentos into the cola, the carbon dioxide gas forms bubbles on the
uneven surface of the Mentos, creating a fizzy eruption.

3. What can be done to make the eruption stronger and higher?

Diet Coke can be used instead of the regular one. It is because of the
aspartame and potassium benzoate that make it easier to form bubbles in the
soda, making it faster and more eruption to occur. Using a bigger size of
cola and adding more Mentos candy can contribute too. Increasing the speed
of dropping the candy helps also. Experiment with different flavors or
brands of cola to see if they produce different results.

Conclusion:
Both Mentos candy and soda contains carbon dioxide. The trapped carbon dioxide
inside the bottle of cola escapes when the cap opens. When the Mentos candy was
dropped on the cola, it quickly sinks to the bottom. The amount of carbon dioxide
it has, and speed contributes to creating and gathering more carbon dioxide that
result to an eruption or geyser effect. This reaction can be compared to types of
eruption of volcanoes which varies depending on the factors which are magma
chemistry and content, temperature, viscosity, volume, water and gas content,
presence of ground water and the plumbing of the volcano.
.