It is the physical reaction (carbon dioxide leaving solution) and not the loss of carbonic acid that causes the eruption.

These imperfections are called nucleation sites. Dropping Mentos into coke or lemonade allows the dissolved gas within the liquid to come out of the liquid super-fast at these nucleation points on the Mentos surface. Thus the Coke and Mentos reaction is a physical one, not a chemical reaction.

Originally Answered: What is the chemical equation of Diet Coke and Mentos? There is no chemical reactions, therefore no equation. The mentoes provide nucleation sites for the dissolved carbon dioxide to come out of solution.

It’s Not an Acid/Base Reaction But they do have one thing in common: carbon dioxide. On the other hand, when you drop a Mentos candy into a bottle of cola, the carbon dioxide gas was already present in the soda to begin with, yet it seems to suddenly erupt.

A Mentos dropped into a bottle of soda acts as a surfactant, meaning it reduces the surface tension of the soda. Bottled sodas are kept under pressure so that more carbon dioxide can be forced into solution. When the pressure is released, the carbon dioxide is forced out of solution and makes little gas bubbles.

But the combination of Coke Zero & Mentos is particularly potent! Does It Have to be Diet? Diet Coke and Coke Zero tend to go a bit higher than regular soda, because they have a little more carbonation and the sweeteners help make the reaction a little bigger.

Your stomach can explode from drinking Coke and eating Mentos together. Similar to the exploding stomachs in the Pop Rocks story, Coke and Mentos is just another myth.

Swigging some Coke and swallowing some Mentos will essentially cause a lot of the carbon dioxide trapped in the soda in your stomach to suddenly bubble and try to escape. If this were the case, eating Mentos and drinking soda may indeed be dangerous.