Make invisible ink using lemon juice

Did you know you could use the juice from a lemon to write a secret message?

Materials:

* Lemon

* Plate

* Cotton swab

* Paper

* Lamp

Instructions:

STEP 1: Squeeze the lemon juice into the plate.

STEP 2: Dip the cotton swab into the lemon juice. Use the cotton swab to write a message on the paper.

STEP 3: Once the lemon juice dries have an adult hold the side of the paper with the invisible ink close to the lamp until your secrete message appears.

Explanation:

The lemon juice contains carbon compounds. When heated, these carbon compounds turn black, revealing your message.

Jason Lindsey is a Science Outreach Educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website "Hooked On Science" at hookedonscience.org for webcasts and experiments that might get you hooked on science. Send him your science questions at jlindsey@hookedonscience.org. More science experiments can be found at www.semissourian.com.