Most people see the famous soda and Mentos eruption and think it has something to do with chemistry or that it is a chemical reaction. Well, this is completely wrong because the reaction is actually a physical reaction. Unlike a physical reaction, a chemical reaction is a process that rearranges the molecular or ionic structure of a substance. That is different from a change in physical form or a nuclear reaction, which is a physical reaction. The reason the soda and Mentos reaction is a physical reaction instead of a chemical reaction is because the physical form of a carbon dioxide molecule is being changed to a bubble.
One key component of soda and Mentos reaction is that soda and Mentos are two inert materials. Inert means chemically inactive. This meaning that if combined with other materials they would not create a reaction, physical or chemical. The main reason that Mentos and soda are so reactive together is the ingredients. The coating of Mentos, which holds the tiny bumps or nucleation sites is made up of sugar, aspartame, and potassium benzoate. These materials reduce the work it takes to form bubbles, creating a rabid succession of carbon dioxide bubbles. Other mints like altoids have some of these ingredients like sugar, but not the others such as
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The surface of a Mentos is coarse and bumpy, these bumps are called nucleation sites. These sites can be any bumpy surface like sandpaper or even the ridges of a finger, but since there are so many bumps on the surface of a Mentos they are perfect for this experiment. Soda is full of carbon dioxide, and normally, carbon dioxide molecules are separated, however when offered a nucleation site the molecules come together and form a bubble. Since the volume in this bottle greatly increases because of the production of bubbles the bubbles can not be contained, so they erupt out of the top of the
gas bubbles serves as evidence that the catalase enzyme is working. As catalase is breaking the
Since sugar is composed of covalent bonds and therefore as we saw in part 2, takes much less time to melt, I think we didn’t observe bubbles because there was not as much as a reaction since it “melted” so much faster. Also, sugar does not change its composition when added to water, but salt does. Therefore, perhaps the sugar does not cause the screw to bubble much.
A chemical reaction is when substances (reactants) change into other substances (products). The five general types of chemical reactions are synthesis (also known as direct combination), decomposition, single replacement (also known as single displacement), double replacement (also known as double displacement), and combustion. In this lab, the five general types of chemical reactions were conducted and observations were taken before, during, and after the reaction. Then the reactants and observations were used to determine the products to form a balanced chemical equation. The purpose of this lab was to learn and answer the question: How can observations be used to determine the identity of substances produced in a chemical reaction?
Though many people will think there is a lot of bad in soda, technically it’s just carbonated water, which is basically “gas that’s called carbon dioxide that has been dissolved under high pressure” (sciencebuddies.org). When one opens a can of soda pop the carbon dioxide in it is released out causing the bubbles in the drink, and the best part for this project is that one can choose their own way to do it, yes they may have to follow what the recipe calls for but they can choose their favorite flavors and their own color for it like if they wanted to they could make a bacon flavored pop but it might not taste the best but the point would be that it would be their own idea.
The reaction you will be investigating is the reaction that occurs when an Alka-Seltzer tablet is placed into a given amount of water. Alka-Seltzer is an over-the-counter antacid and pain relief medication that is dissolved in water before it is ingested. Each tablet contains aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), citric acid, and sodium bicarbonate. As the tablet dissolves in water, the bicarbonate ions in the tablet react with the hydrogen ions from the acids that are also contained in the tablet. The carbon dioxide gas produced by the reaction is what causes the bubbling that can be observed.
The moment an Alka-Seltzer tablet hits water, it begins to fizz. These tablets are over-the-counter antacids and pain relief medications that contain aspirin, sodium bicarbonate, and citric acid. The fizzing is a result of a reaction occurring where carbon dioxide (in the form of bubbles), water, and sodium acetate is formed. The fizzing and carbon dioxide bubbles are a result of the sodium bicarbonate splitting and reacting with the citric acid. In this experiment we are determining the percent by mass of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) in Alka-Seltzer tablets and exploring the relationship between amounts of reactants and products.
One type of chemical reaction, called combustion, involves the burning of various compounds and elements. Some substances are more
The diet coke and Mentos experiment has been a favorite of amateur scientists, but how does it work? There have been debates, and scientists have concluded that the diet coke and Mentos is a physical reaction, called nucleation. Nucleation sites are areas that have high surface with low volume. Such places can be your fingerprint, scratches on glass, specks of dust, or even Mentos candy (Eepy Bird). Mentos candies have a pitted surface that’s rough when looked at through a microscope, therefore creating a wonderful place for nucleation to occur. Water molecules like to be next to other water molecules, so if you drop something into the soda, like Mentos, it acts as a site for growth of bubbles. Mentos have a high
A rougher candy surface such as, Mentos, means there are more places for bubbles to grow, or more nucleation sites. (brilliant.org) Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension between two liquids. (brilliant.org) Dropping Mentos in Coke is an example of a surfactant. The eruptions happen due to nucleation where the Carbon Dioxide in the soda is drawn to the Mentos. (eepybird.com) The pressure of the bottle is trapping the CO2 inside. The CO2 in the soda reacts to the sugar on the Mentos.
A chemical reaction takes place using displacement reaction between a metal and acid, for example when the hydrogen and magnesium react the
When four paper clips were added to the cup, the water had not even begun to show signs of spilling. By the end of the experiment, the cup of water was able to hold 120 paperclips before the water ran over. As the 119th paperclip was added, we noticed a somewhat large “half bubble” on the surface of the cup. This ‘bubble’ was caused by 3 factors known
Chemical Reactions - Chemical reactions may occur when combining two different materials together, which could result in intense heat, the release of noxious gases, and even an explosion. To avoid a chemical reaction, always clean the holding tank in between jobs that involve different liquids and other material; maintain a record of the materials being
When it cools, you have hard candy. Pop Rocks are made by, combining the hot sugar substances with carbon dioxide gas. Once it cools, you release the pressure and the candy shatters, but the pieces still contain the high-pressure bubbles. If you look at Pop Rocks under a microscope, you will see the the tiny bubbles that are
A chemical reaction is a process in which elements or compounds react with one another to create new or different substances. There are two parts to a reaction. Those two parts are the products and the reactants. The reactants are the chemicals or chemical compounds that are going through the reaction itself. The products are chemical elements or chemical compounds that are produced as a result of the reactant or reactants reacting. There are four key indications that there’s a chemical reaction is taking place. Those four signs include a change in color and/or odor, formation of a precipitate or a gas, the release or absorption of energy (light, heat, electricity), and if the reaction is irreversible. Along with this information, there are ways to predict the products of a reaction.