What kind of science involves candy and soda? Introduce your curious young scientist to the wonders of chemistry with a simple activity that produces an explosive finale!!
What You Need:
- Mint candies (Mentos work well)
- Two-liter bottle of dark soda
- Two-liter bottle of diet soda
- Two-liter bottle of orange soda
- Tape measure
What You Do:
- Have your child find a clear place outside that can get covered in sticky soda. Alternatively, if the weather isn’t cooperating, set up in the bathtub or shower.
- Let him set up his three two liter sodas on the ground (or on the bathtub floor). There should be at least a foot of space between each bottle.
- Carefully have him unscrew the top of each soda bottle.
- Help him roll a piece of paper just big enough to hold seven stacked mint candies. He doesn't have to tape or glue them shut -- just let him hold the roll in his hand.
- This next step will take a bit of coordination. Standing a foot or two away, hold the tape measure about an arm's length away from the soda bottle. The zero mark on the tape should be next to the top of the bottle.
- As soon as you find a comfortable spot to hold the tape measure, have you child drop the stacked mint candies into the soda.
- Watch out! The mint candies and the soda should create a geyser that shoots out of the bottle. Be sure to watch the tape measure to find out how high the geyser gets.
- Repeat the procedure for each of the sodas. Which soda makes the biggest geyser?
Is your child curious about what's going on? Well, in a nutshell, the mint candies contain tiny holes that provide a place for all the bubbles of carbon dioxide in the soda to come together. Once enough bubbles gather, the gas shoots out the top of bottle!
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