Fizzy Lemonade!

Evan and Jessie make plenty of lemonade in The Lemonade War. Let's make some of our own and see if we can learn some chemistry at the same time!

Here's what you'll need:

• Lemon juice (either from a bottle or from a real lemon)
• Baking soda
• Water
• Sugar
• drinking glass
• spoon

First, pour 1/4 cup lemon juice (or all the juice you can squeeze out of your lemon) into the glass. Make note of how the lemon juice smells and looks and tastes all by itself. (As you'll notice in my picture, lime juice works equally well.) Add a tablespoon of water to the glass. Then add a pinch of baking soda to the glass. Check out all those bubbles! (You can try adding up to a tablespoon in another glass to watch more bubbles form, but it might not be edible afterward.)

So what's happening? The citric acid in the lemon juice is reacting with the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to make the same bubbles you see in soda--carbon dioxide (plus some more water molecules.) Add the rest of your cup of water and stir it up.

What does it taste like now? Take a very, very small taste. What's missing? We have our lemon juice, water, and even some bubbles. So why does it taste so terrible? We're missing sugar (sucrose)! Add 1/4 cup sugar to your lemonade and stir until the sugar dissolves.

When a solid dissolves, its particles break up and spread themselves all through a liquid. But even though the sugar is disappearing, it's definitely still in there! Taste your lemonade for proof. :)

By the way, you can have more chemistry fun by checking out these tasty chemical reactions or by building all of the molecules linked above using this gumdrop molecule activity.

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

From Goodreads: Evan Treski is people-smart. He is good at talking with people, even grownups. His younger sister, Jessie, on the other hand, is math-smart—but not especially good at understanding people. She knows that feelings are her weakest subject. So when their lemonade war begins, there really is no telling who will win—and even more important, if their fight will ever end.

Here is a clever blend of humor and math fun. As it captures the one-of-a-kind bond between brother and sister, this poignant novel subtly explores how arguments can escalate beyond anyone’s intent.

My Two Cents: I loved the imperfect and realistic sibling relationship in this book and the way little bits of math and business were woven throughout. The alternating viewpoints help readers see both sides of the story really effectively, and the sibling relationship, with all its ups and downs, is really lovely foundation for all the fun and learning that takes place in the pages.

Grade Level: 3-5

Additional Resources:

• Jacqueline Davies' website, including a teacher's guide, printable bookmarks, and the official book trailer
• The Lemonade War website, which includes additional teacher's guides
• Have fun learning about money with info, games, and videos here
• Make your own lemonade and start a lemonade stand, or if the weather doesn't cooperate, play this virtual lemonade stand game

More to Read:

• Another brother and sister who see the world in very different ways: Rules by Cynthia Lord
• Another contemporary story with siblings, problem solving, and a fun citrus twist: One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street by Joanne Rocklin
• Another story of siblings and their adventures with money: Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce
• And, of course, the rest of the books in this series: The Lemonade Crime, The Bell Bandit, and The Candy Smash