Magic Lemonade Fizz Bomb Experiment
Turn everyday lemonade into a magical bubbling concoction with this super simple science experiment. WOW your family and friends and enjoy the sweet, refreshing drink that results.
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What you need…
2 cups water
2-3 lemons
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3-4 sugar cubes
3 tablespoon baking soda
Toothpicks or skewers
Food colouring
Lemon squeezer
What to do…
Cut each lemon in half and juice until you have at least 1/2 cup of lemon juice.
To make the best-tasting lemonade fizz, strain the juice to remove any pulp or pips.Add 1/2 cup of lemon juice to 2 cups of water and stir to combine.
Slowly add 1/4 cup granulated sugar to the lemon/water mix and stir until the sugar dissolves… you’ve just made lemonade!
To make the fizz bombs, dip the end of a toothpick into food colouring and paint it onto a sugar cube.
We painted different patterns to add interest to each cube.Let the food colouring painted sugar cubes dry.
Once dry, place the sugar cubes in a small bowl of baking soda and cover each one. The goal is to coat each sugar cube in as much baking soda as possible.
If you have trouble doing this using a bowl, you could put your baking soda and sugar cubes in a resealable sandwich bag and shake to coat them… but, make sure you seal the top securely before shaking!Pour your lemonade into glasses.
Our mix made three glasses of lemonade.Add a little magic by dropping a fizz bomb into each glass and watch as the lemonade changes colour and starts fizzing as the fizz bomb dissolves. Fizz bombs take a moment to work and may need a quick stir with a spoon to activate.
Try making more fizz bombs with more or less food colouring and baking soda coating and see how this changes the reaction.
The science behind the magic…
Citrus fruits like oranges, limes and lemons contain citric acid. When citric acid is combined with baking soda, a gas is formed. The gas is called carbon dioxide and it’s what causes the lemonade to fizz.
The more baking soda you coat your fizz bombs in OR the less water you add to your lemonade, the more your lemonade will fizz.
Did you give it a go?
Send us a photo of your Magic Lemonade Fizz Bombs Experiment and you might find your creation featured in a future issue of Upstart magazine… AND win a prize!