It's because of the change in temperature which causes a change in pressure, volume or both. This expansion of the volume and the change in the pressure are greater than what the container can retain, hence the explosion. The technical formula is (P1*V1)/T1 = (P2*V2)/T2 P = Pressure V = Volume T = Temperature The change in the temperature causes a change in the pressure and volume which causes the can or container to explode.

The simple answer is that water expands when it freezes. Since the soda is around 99.9% water, there is not enough room in the can when the soda freezes and expands. Sumpins gotta give and it is the thin aluminum that gives, usually just a split along a seam but sometimes a sudden 'catastrophic failure' and there can be a 'splosion.' Even a small split can make a mess, the pressure of the soda itself and the added pressure as it freezes can spew soda all over, if the pressure is not so great the soda sorta oozes out slowly enough to freeze, creating some interesting sculptures on the can. You can lick the sculpture like a popsicle, don't get your tongue stuck on the can. Plastic bottles have a slight amount of stretch, but are weaker than a can, they make really great explosive messes since they usually burst while there is more liquid available to blow all thru the freezer. That expansion of freezing water is why you should never use glass containers in a freezer, the growing ice will break them. If you get the can just before it bursts and while there is still some liquid you can open it and have a sorta Cold Volcano Slushy as the pressure pushes half melted soda out, that's a good way to make a mess too. For the best soda explosion, get behind some thick protection and have some idiot put a closed can of soda in a fire. Boiling hot sticky soda and hot aluminum shrapnel will fly everywhere, burning, maiming, maybe killing any one in its path. That's why you get another idiot to video tape the whole thing while you hunker in the bunker with an ice cold expanded cola.

I agree with the explanation of the water expanding when it forms ice and thus forcing the can open with the unfrozen portion of the container spews out. Yes, I said spew.

It has less to do with the expansion of water as the other answers have clamed. If you filled a can of water and froze it the can would distort but not explode. Soda is carbonated, that means CO2 is dissolved in the soda. When this water is frozen/cooled the amount of CO2 that can be dissolved drastically decreases. According to CO2's solubility curve the colder a solvent(the soda) is the less gas(the CO2) can be dissolved. The release of CO2 that now cannot be dissolved in the frozen water causes soda to explode.

it happened in are class before. i think it was strawberry short cake dr pepper or something wierd like that. it was loud and so powerful it open the freezer door

I forgot I put a can of diet coke in the fridge (more than once) and it exploded every time. BUT I put a can of regular coke in the fridge and forgot about it and the can didn't even expand a little bit. I just did it with a Dr. Pepper. Frozen solid but no expansion. Does sugar STOP the regular cokes from exploding? Or does Aspartame MAKE the diet coke blow????