Physics in the Fountain of Fizz [Virtual Demonstration]

The Diet Coke Mentos geyser seems to have erupted onto the popular culture scene around 2006. Many analyses of the geysers focused on the "chemistry" of the eruptions: the interaction between the candy's shell and the soda.

To be a bit different, I created this activity to focus on the physics of the eruptions. When remote teaching/distance learning (RT;DL) came along, I was determined to keep this demo alive.

[I actually performed the demo live over Zoom for my students at the time. I modified the presentation and worksheet to accommodate a virtual operation of the demo.]

Initial and final masses are measured, as is eruption duration and apex height. From there, mass flow rate, nozzle speed, energy, and power can be determined. The fountain of fizz is a fountain of Phyz.

Physics in the Fountain of Fizz [Virtual Demonstration] at Teachers Pay Teachers

Includes

Student document (print-friendly Google Docs file on Google Drive)

Observation videoclip: https://youtu.be/rI3xmh2Fbo8 link embedded in student document

Instructional presentation (link embedded in answer key)

Answer key