Science Fair Projects for Soda Pop and Carbon Dioxide

Science fair projects for soda pop and carbon dioxide are hilarious and a lot of fun. However, because they tend to be a little on the messy side you will want to perform these experiments outside. Also, make sure you wear safety glasses and clothes you don't mind getting dirty. Finally, if you want to try these chemistry science experiments, have a spare set of dry clothes on hand as well as some wet wipes.

The most popular of all science fair projects for soda pop and carbon dioxide is the infamous Mentos/Diet Coke experiment. In this experiment you will be creating a violent and fizzy chemical reaction. To complete this project all you have to do is drop in a roll of Mentos into a 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke and step back.

What happens when you freeze a can of soda pop? We know that temperature impacts the pressure that gases are under, so what happens to carbon dioxide in pop if you freeze the can? This is one of many interesting chemistry science fair projects that you can complete, however, to protect the contents of your freezer place the can in a large zipper bag. Check on the progress of your can every 15 to 20 minutes. What happens to the shape of the can? After it has frozen solid cut the can in half using a hack saw. What happened to the carbon dioxide gas?

Can you cause a can to explode just by shaking it up? The purpose of this experiment is to see if agitating the carbon dioxide inside the can will cause the can to explode. If it does explode why did it explode? Think about the gas pressure inside the can compared to the air pressure outside of the can. How can this information be used to design safer pop containers?

Does heating up a can of pop increase the chances that it will explode? Since we know that temperature impacts gas pressure it is safe to assume that heating up a can of pop will eventually cause it to explode. You job is to find the exploding point and to explain why it happened and what happened. Can this information be used to reduce the number of cans that explode during shipping during the hot months of the year?

The final hypothesis that you can work with is "what keeps a soda fizzy?" Your job now is to determine how to keep the carbon dioxide in soda pop fizzy after the can or bottle has been opened. Are there toppers that can be designed? Additives to slow down the release of gas bubbles? Use your imagination. If you come up with something effective, pop companies could want to buy your experiment.