Lemons are a small, yellow citrus fruit that taste sour, smell good and can be used for lots of very simple science experiments as they are acidic.
I’ve collected 5 of my favourite science experiments using lemons for you to try at home. All are very easy and don’t use many resources other than the lemon!
Make a lemon sink
Lemons have a thick, porous skin which allows them to float, but there is a way to make a lemon sink. You just need to remove the skin!
![Image of a container of water with a lemon floating on the surface of the water and a lemon with no skin on the bottom of the jar.](https://www.science-sparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/lemon-float-challenge-899x1024.jpg)
Make a lemon battery
The juice inside a lemon can act as an electrolyte in a lemon battery!
You’ll need copper wire or a copper coin and a zinc ( galvanised ) nail to make a battery with a lemon.
![a lemon battery made with a zinc nail and a copper coin](https://www.science-sparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Lemon-Battery-labelled-diagram-1024x1024.jpg)
Blow up a balloon with lemon juice
Lemon juice is acidic, if you mix it with an alkali ( base ) such as bicarbonate of soda the two will react to neutralise each other releasing carbon dioxide gas as a by product.
If you add a little lemon juice to a clean, empty bottle, and then pop a bit if bicarbonate of soda into a balloon and place the balloon on top of the bottle so the bicarbonate of soda ( baking soda ) tips into the lemon juice, the carbon dioxide released will fill the bottle and then inflate the balloon!
![Blow up a balloon with lemon juice](https://www.science-sparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/DSC_1677-1.jpg)
Make fizzy lemons
Make fizzy lemons by adding a little baking soda directly to half a lemon and mixing it. Add a little food colouring for more colourful, fizzy fun.
![a lemon filled with baking soda to make it fizz as a science experiment](https://www.science-sparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/lemon-volcano-1024x684.jpeg)
Drop a lemon into a glass
Learn about the law of inertia with this easy demonstration of Newton’s First Law.
![A pint glass with a sheet of cardboard on top, with a black cardboard cylinder and a lemon on top](https://www.science-sparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Inertia3-684x1024.jpeg)
Make homemade lemonade
Use lemons, baking soda and water to make your own fizzy lemonade! You can find a super easy recipe for this in Snackable Science.
Invisible ink with lemon juice
Create your own invisible ink with lemon juice. This is a very simple science activity that is great for kids of all ages. Older children can experiment with lemons, limes and other acids. Write a message on white paper with lemon juice and then place in an oven to reveal it!
![invisible ink image](https://www.science-sparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/DSC_0032.jpg)
Can you think fo any more science experiments using lemons for us?
![Collage of science experiments using lemons. A jar with a lemon floating and the inside of a lemon sinking, a lemon battery and a heart drawn with a lemon as invisible ink](https://www.science-sparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Science-Experiments-Using-Lemons-683x1024.jpg)
Last Updated on April 4, 2022 by Emma Vanstone
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