Mixing Molecules: The Science of Lemonade 🍋🧪

When you make lemonade, you’re actually doing chemistry!

• Solvent: The liquid that does the dissolving. In lemonade, that’s the water.

• Solute: The substance that gets dissolved. In lemonade, that’s the sugar (and a little bit of lemon juice too).

  * A good way to remember the difference is by counting the letters:

  • Solvent has more letters → it does the dissolving.

  • Solute has fewer letters → it’s the one being dissolved.

When you stir sugar into water, the sugar breaks apart into tiny particles that spread out evenly. The lemonade tastes sweet in every sip, since the sugar has completely dissolved in the solvent.

Fun fact: If you add too much sugar, it won’t all dissolve. That’s because the solution is “saturated,” meaning the solvent can’t hold any more solute!

The Experiment

Materials

• Spoon

• Knife and Cutting Board

• Large bowl

• 6 lemons (1 cup of lemon juice)

• 1 cup of sugar

• 4 cups of water

*Depending on the amount you want to make, you can change the ratio of lemons, sugar, and water

Procedure

1. Wash and cut the lemons using the cutting board (make sure to have a parent supervising)

2. Pour the water into a large bowl, and then pour the sugar

   1. Make sure to observe how the water dissolves the sugar—that's the work of the solvent (water)!

3. Squeeze the lemons into the bowl, and combine everything

4. Pour the mixture into a large pitcher, add ice, and serve!

If you want to test your knowledge, click on this link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCtBuj-fi-hPeZxF8hM3mhYUDRJYmSzApDByUpdSmAe76cxQ/viewform?usp=header