S

Old Faithful

EXAMPLE SCIENCE FAIR DIGITAL BOARD

The science behind the soda and candy reaction

**NOTE: This is NOT an acceptable Science Fair Project Topic

Question

Does the type of soda impact the size of the soda geyser?

Abstract

As seen in popular culture, soda and Mentos creates a instantaneous chemical reaction. The experiment was to determine which type of soda best reacted with the Mentos. To determine the best type, both time length of reaction and amount of soda remaining were tested. The hypothesis that diet coke would produce the best reaction was supported by both the greatest reaction time and least amount of soda remaining.

Hypothesis

If diet coke is used as the soda in the experiment, then the size of the geyser will be the greatest because of the chemical properties of diet coke and Mentos.

Materials

2 Liter bottles of soda ( Diet Coke, Diet Coke with Lime, Diet Pepsi, Fruit, Green Apple, and Sprite)Mint MentosStopwatchGraduated CylinderSafety Goggles

Procedure

1. Wear Safety Goggles2. Place 6 Mentos into the Geyser tube and

attach to the bottle of soda3. Pull the holding pin4. Time the reaction from when the pin is

pulled to when there is no more fizzing5. Measure how much soda is left in the

bottle6. Record data7. Repeat for each type and trials

Procedure

Independent variable: Type of sodaDependent variables: Reaction time and amount of soda left in bottleControl: Standard Diet Coke with mint Mentos

Experimental Pictures

Results: Reaction time 

Soda Reaction Time (seconds)

Diet Coke 6.48

Sprite 6.85

Diet Coke (Lime) 5.97

Diet Pepsi 6.05

Results: Remaining Soda Soda Left in Bottle (mL)

Diet Coke 560

Sprite 710

Diet Coke (Lime) 570

Diet Pepsi 650

Graph: Reaction Time 

Tim

e (

Sec

ond

s)

Type of Soda

Graph: Remaining Soda 

Am

ount

of

Sod

a R

emai

nin

g (m

L)

Type of Soda

Conclusion

The control (Diet coke with mint mentos) had the best reaction, followed closely by Diet Coke with Lime.  The worst reaction was the Sprite.  The amount left in the bottle was primarily used to determine the quality of the reaction, because the least amount of remaining soda meant the reaction was more successful. Based on this data, the hypothesis that Diet Coke would work the best was

Works Cited

Erupting Diet Coke with Mentoshttp://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-coke-mentos/

The Chemistry of Diet Cokehttp://www.chemistryislife.com/the-chemistry-of-diet-coke