Question

How would you collect and measure the amount of CO2 generated by a Mentos and Diet Coke explosion?

Answer 1

For the Mentos–Diet Coke reaction, the carbonic acid and carbon dioxide are not products of a chemical reaction but are already present in the Diet Coke, whose equilibrium is disturbed by the addition of the Mentos.

Constructed a bottle stand to prevent the bottles from tipping over and to prevent the liquid from falling back into the bottle. Also constructed a tube to fit over the mouth of the bottle and a delivery mechanism for the solid materials to maintain consistency in our results. Measured the mass of the bottle using a double pan balance before and after the reaction to determine the mass lost in the reaction. Measured the horizontal distance traveled by the soda’s spray using marker flags and video. Also using video, duration of reaction time can be acquired.

Finally polting the graph of Horizontal Distance Traveled by Spray (Y-axis) vs Mass Lost during Reaction (x-axis), we can measure the amount of CO₂.