Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Dear Expert,
I was thinking if I can get some background information about this topic.
My hypothesis is: If I put mint in the hot water, then the hot water will cool down.
Variable: Water with mint
Control: Water without mint
Constants: The amount of hot water, the temperature, and the amount of mint in each glass of hot water
Please respond as soon as possible

Sincerely,
MaggieW17

Hi MaggieW17,

This is a really interesting topic! Your hypothesis, variables, control, and constants all look good.

The compound that makes mint flavoring feel like your mouth is cold is called menthol. I've included a link below for background information.

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/why-men ... ally-cold/

You can see that this topic is pretty widely researched, but it's still an interesting topic and a good experiment.

Hope this helped and let us know if you have more questions,
Allison