What Is a Pop Rocks and Soda Science Project?

What is a pop rocks and soda science project? This is actually a very simple experiment that allows you to disprove an urban legend that has been around for a long, long time.

Almost everyone has heard the urban legend about pop rocks and soda. When the candy first came onto the scene years ago, the rumor was spread that eating pop rocks and then drinking soda at the same time would cause your stomach to explode. However, this is actually urban legend.

Fortunately, you can prove this will not happen by performing a simple science project that will prove this urban legend to be untrue. Disproving this story is a great pop rocks and soda science project.

Conducting Your Experiment

To start your experiment there are some things you will need.

• A package of pop rocks.
• A twelve to sixteen ounce bottle of soda.  You can really pick any brand you'd like here, although Pop Rocks Candy suggests that Coke was the most favored brand in the original urban legend, so you may want to use Coke to do your experiment
• A balloon

If you are planning on presenting your experiment at a science fair or other event, you may also want supplies to make a sign to go along with your experiment.

Getting Started with the Experiment

To do the experiment:

• Open the pop rocks and put them into the neck of the balloon - the part where you would normally blow it up.
• Once you have done this, you should open the soda bottle and place the cap to the side.
• You will then take your balloon with the pop rocks inside of it and wrap the neck of the balloon around the top of the soda bottle securely. Make sure while you are doing this, you hold the top of the balloon to ensure that the pop rocks do not fall into the soda.
• Once you make sure the balloon has been attached securely to the top of the bottle, release your hands letting the pop rocks fall into the soda.
• Pop rocks are candy with carbon dioxide stored in them under 600 pounds of pressure. As the pop rocks hit the soda, a physical reaction will occur and the soda will begin to foam, releasing carbon dioxide.
• As the gas builds up, the balloon will begin to inflate, but it will not pop.
• The fact that the balloon won't pop proves that a stomach that has ingested pop rocks and soda will not explode due to the physical reaction between the two products. The only thing that will happen is that you will develop a gas bubble that must be released from the body (usually, in the form of a burp.)

So, now you know what the pop rocks and soda science project is. If you are presenting this at a science fair, you can create a sign that indicates what your hypothesis is (in this case: "Will Pop Rocks and Soda Make Your Stomach Explode?") so that the judges or visitors to your booth will know what the purpose of your experiment is and why they should watch it.