Lemon Volcano

Have you ever wanted to see a real life volcanic eruption? Now you can- make an erupting lemon with today’s experiment!

Materials:

Pan, lemons, knife, spoon, baking soda, and food coloring (optional)

Time Estimated:

15-20 minutes

Directions:

  1. Cut the top and bottom off of the lemon so it stands straight

  2. Use the spoon to break up the inside of the lemon

  3. Add a few drops of food coloring to the inside of the lemon

  4. Get ready for a volcano! Pour some baking soda on top of the lemon and watch! You can add more baking soda and stir with your spoon slightly to see what happens

Think Like A Scientist:

  1. What if you use a different fruit instead of a lemon? Will it work better or worse? Think about the acidity of the fruit to try and predict your results, then test your hypothesis!

  2. Why is the baking soda so important? What is its role in this experiment?

How It Works:

In this experiment, you caused a chemical reaction to occur between an acid and a base.

The lemon acted as an acid. Lemons are a type of citrus fruit, along with limes, oranges, and grapefruit. Citrus fruits are known for their sour taste because they contain citric acid.

The baking soda that you added acted as a base.

So, what happens when you add a base to an acid? You get the reaction that you saw! This acid-base reaction produces a gas called carbon dioxide. The gas doesn’t want to mix with the liquid; instead, it wants to escape into the air. The process of the gas escaping the liquid creates the bubbles that we see!

Looking for more fun at home STEM activities for your young scientist? Check out our workbook full of exciting science experiments and empowering activities! 

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