A Mentos dropped into a bottle of soda acts as a surfactant, meaning it reduces the surface tension of the soda. Water molecules are polar and attracted to each other. Anything that breaks them apart allows for bubbles of carbon dioxide gas to form in the solution. Why does soda explode if artificial sweetener or other powders are added? - I opened a can of soda and spilled some generic artificial sweetener into the soda and it exploded. Why did this happen? I am not talking about mentos, I mean artificial sweeteners like Splenda. All soda or carbonated drinks produce the same result, but many people have observed that the best reaction occurs when Diet Coke is used with Mentos. This is because the drink contains ingredients such as aspartame, potassium benzoate, and carbon dioxide gas, which mix with the gelatin and gum arabic in the candy. Mentos, the makers of Mentos Chewy Mints, explains on its website that soda and other fizzy drinks contain a certain amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that is dissolved in water in the form of tiny bubbles or carbonation. The temperature of the soda also factors into geyser size. Gases are less soluble in liquids with a higher temperature, so the warmer your soda is, the bigger your Mentos-induced geyser will As the Mentos candy sinks in the bottle, the candy causes the production of more and more carbon dioxide bubbles. This leads to the classic Mentos and Diet Coke eruption. The speed at which the Mentos falls through the Diet Coke can affect how large the eruption is. ZnJBI.

why do mentos make soda explode