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Mystery #4Tier 2chemistry reactions dissolving heat

Why does a fizzy tablet whoosh away far faster in warm water than cold?

Drop a fizzy tablet into a glass of warm water and it whooshes into a storm of bubbles almost at once. Drop an identical tablet into cold water and it just sits there, fizzing lazily. Same tablet, same amount of water. So why does the warm water make it disappear so much faster?

A hand holding a white effervescent tablet above a glass of clear water, about to drop it in.
Photo: Shixart1985 · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Your guess

What do you think the warm water is doing to speed things up?

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