Hooked on Science: Soda geyser

Using a few materials from around the house, you can create a soda geyser.

Materials

* Mentos

* Sheet of paper

* Tape

* Index card

* 2-liter bottle of soda

Instructions

STEP 1: Create a launcher tube by rolling the sheet of paper into a tube. Make sure the tube is a little bigger than the diameter of the Mentos candy. Use the tape to hold the paper in place.

STEP 2: Open the 2-liter bottle of soda, place the soda on the ground, and put the index card over the opening.

STEP 3: Load the candy into your launcher tube.

STEP 4: Place the launcher tube directly above the opening of the bottle of soda. Keep the index card between the bottle and your launcher tube.

STEP 5: Quickly remove the index card, allowing the Mentos to fall into the 2-liter bottle of soda. Stand back and watch the soda geyser.

Jason Lindsey is a science outreach educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website www.hookedonscience.org for webcasts and experiments that might get you hooked on science. Send him your science questions at jlindseyhookedonscience.com. More science experiments can be found at www.semissourian.com.