How to Make a Volcano Erupt
You’ve created an awesome volcano for your science project, and even though it’s puny, you want it to be as realistic and explosive as a real one. Making your volcano erupt is pretty easy, but you need a few materials. Here are two methods you can try to make your volcano erupt.
Method One: Baking Soda And Vinegar
This is the easier and more commonly used tactic to make your science project volcano explode.
What You’ll Need:
One tablespoon of warm water
One tablespoon of baking soda
Vinegar
Small paper cup
Liquid dish washing soap
Food coloring
Stick
Procedure:
Find a hard, flat surface that can be cleaned up easily. This will be messy, so make sure you can clean up properly after the demonstration.
Measure the water into the volcano crater, or the bottle.
Add three to four drops of dishwashing soap. Mix in three to four drops of food coloring.
Stir in the baking soda properly. You might need a stick for this step.
Transfer some vinegar into a paper cup, filling 2/3 of it. As quickly as you can, pour the vinegar into the volcano crater. Watch as the volcano explodes in a bubbly frenzy!
Method Two: Mentos And Soda
Compared to the first method, this one will create a bigger and stickier explosion. It’s best to do it outside, in a field or lawn.
What You’ll Need:
Two-liter bottle of soda (diet soda is better, if you want a bigger explosion)
A roll of Mentos
Piece of paper
Liquid soap
Procedure:
Open the bottle of soda, and position it in your volcano.
Put a couple of drops of liquid soap in the soda, to break the surface tension. This will create a bigger explosion.
Unwrap the whole roll of Mentos. Your goal is to put all the Mentos in the soda bottle simultaneously, but this can be tricky. To be able to do this, make a tube that’s big enough to carry the candies, then position it over the bottle tip. Put a card under the roll, and as you pull it, the candies will all drop in at once.
Once all the Mentos are in the bottle, ask everyone to stand back. The soda will erupt like fireworks!
A volcanic eruption isn’t very difficult to achieve, as long as you have the right materials and the proper instructions. Try either of these two tactics and watch with pride as your science project erupts!