Welcome to science. I feel you should be introduced to why I started this blog on my first post. I am a little bit of a nerd, I like science, and I want to do fun things with my kids. I also want you to be able to copy and do fun things with your kids or by yourslef if so inclined. This first experiment is a fizzy frenzy. I used lemons and limes, squeezed about 1/2 cup into a glass then put in about a 1/2 cup of water. I got Lauren's attention and put in about a teaspoon of baking soda (in retrospec I would use less maybe 1/2 teaspoon. The flavor is strong.) Stir and WOW did it fiz! Up and over the glass and all over the table. Messes are at least 90% of the fun. Make sure to stir in plenty of sugar for taste.

What you need

Before

After

Results

Lauren's twist

It turns out sugar is sweet

Nerd Moment:

Lemon juice and lime juice contain an acid called citric acid. Baking soda is a base called sodium bicarbonate. When combined a chemical reaction takes place where the acid donates a proton or hydrogen ion to solution and the base accepts a proton from solution. In the process they make water, salt, and in this case carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is the gas that forms the bubbles and fiz. The reaction looks something like this.

C6H8O7(citric acid) + NaHCO3(sodium bicarbonate) ---> NaC6H7O7(sodium citrate) + H2CO3(carbonic acid)

Then

H2CO3(carbonic acid) spontaneously ---> H20(water) + CO2(carbon dioxide)

What we see: fiz!