Science Smarts: Edible eruption
By PATTY ROOKS on January 7, 2022.
Often times, I get in trouble with the experiments I share. I admit they can get messy, so this week, we are going to take the experiment outside and get messy so there is less clean up in the kitchen! This is a great “explosion” type experiment so roll up your sleeves and… let’s get messy/started! Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment. Materials • Outside location • Snow • Shovel • Two glass bowls (one that will fit inside the other one) • Two containers of gelatin dessert • Water • Boiling water • Measuring cups • Diet cola type soda • Mentosâ„¢ Procedure • Dress warm in this weather in order to go outside. Grab a shovel and dig a nice hole in a snowbank making a “volcano” type shape. • Back in the kitchen, place the smaller bowl in the large bowl – you want to create a hole in the middle of what you are about to make. • Have an adult help you boil 500 mL (two cups) of water and pour into the large bowl ONLY. • Add the two packages of gelatin mixture and stir well. • Place in the refrigerator in order for the gelatin to set. • Grab the can of cola, Mentos and gelatin mold. • In the “volcano” you built outside, gently invert the gelatin mixture into it. • Add a few of the Mentos to the hole in the volcano. • Gently pour in the cola. • QUICK, stand back! • Observe. What is going on? This is a variation on the Mentos and diet cola experiment. If you take a microscope and observed a Mentos candy, you will see that each Mentos candy has thousands of tiny pits all over the surface. These tiny pits are called nucleation sites. All of these little areas on the candies are perfect places for carbon dioxide bubbles in the cola to form and begin to expand. As soon as the Mentos hit the cola, bubbles form all over the surface of the candy and then quickly rise to the surface of the liquid. This pressure needs to escape because there is no more room in that small hole in the gelatin, so it creates a geyser out the volcano! I am looking forward to seeing all of my students start their science fair projects after the break. If you need any help in your classroom, never hesitate to reach out – I would love to see your class (virtually or in person). Patty Rooks, Senior Scientific Consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community”. Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, http://www.praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook. Address: #12 826 11 Street S. E., Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403-527-5365, email: praxis@praxismh.ca. 31-30
