Exploding Soda Pop

Today my daughters and I set out to do the exploding soda pop experiment.  This is a fairly common experiment, but if you've never done it before, it's very simple.  You need a two liter bottle of any carbonated soda and a pack of Mentos candy.  The experiment only works once per two liter bottle of soda.  Feel free to buy the cheap store brand soda.  That's what I did.  Take the cap off the soda.  Place the bottle on flat ground.  Drop 6 pieces of Mentos candy into the bottle.  Back away very quick because the soda will soon shoot upward.  Below is the video I took this afternoon of our first attempt.  In the video I say carbonated water, but it's obvious that this is soda.

I rolled up a standard sized sheet of paper to serve as a funnel.  This allows you to drop them all in at once, which you need to do, unless you want soda in your face.  It's difficult to drop 6 Mentos candy pieces in at once if there's no funnel.  Not all of the soda is shot out of the bottle.  About 1/3 of the soda is left, along with the Mentos pieces.

Leftover soda in the bottle.

Mentos pieces remain in bottle (4 shown).

The remaining soda has lost its carbonation, so the experiment does not work a second time.  I wouldn't recommend drinking the remaining soda.  It probably tastes flat.  I wouldn't recommend eating the leftover Mentos pieces either, but the choice is yours!  :-)

This is a short-lived explosion, but kids love it.  My daughter refused to let me drop the Mentos pieces in our second bottle.  She wanted to do it herself.  Beforehand we talked about what would happen and why.  If you're adventurous, try this out on several brands of soda.  Is there a difference?  Is there a difference between diet soda and regular soda?  

Science education and explosions are the perfect combo!