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Elliot and the Surfing Scientist: Fountain of fizz

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Person stands beside a big upwards explosion of foam from a soft-drink bottle or can
Elliot and the Surfing Scientist: Fountain of fizz

SUBJECTS:  Science

YEARS:  7–8


Have you ever wondered how many bubbles there are in a bottle of soft drink?

What if they all shot out the bottle at the same time in a fountain of fizz!

Watch as Ruben Meerman, the Surfing Scientist explores where bubbles come from and how they form, with spectacular results!


Things to think about

  1. 1.Often you can't see any bubbles in a bottle of soft drink until the bottle is open. Why do you think this is? Where are the bubbles?
  2. 2.What does Ruben tell us the gas in soft drink is made of? How does it get in there? Where is the gas before you open the bottle? Why does opening the bottle release the gas? What is a nucleation site and what does it do? What do the mints have that makes the soft drink fizz?
  3. 3.The 'fountain of fizz' looks like the chemical reaction that happens between vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. How might these two chemical reactions be similar? (Think about the products.) How would you describe the 'fountain of fizz'?
  4. 4.With adult permission, conduct the same experiment but with a variation. Prior to adding the mint lollies, place the bottle of soft drink in warm water for 20-30 minutes. Film your experiment or take a photograph. Compare your fountain of fizz to that of the Surfing Scientist. Share your findings.


Production Date: 2008


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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