Hey, I’m Kathy.
Have you ever wanted to drop a fragile egg
and it stays intact and even bounces?
Today we are going to make an egg turn from a fragile object
into a bouncy, and even squishy egg.
Trust me, this will be egg-cellent
with no magic involved at all and just pure science
all within a few days.
For this eggs-periment, you will need
one clear cup,
one raw egg,
white vinegar,
and a plate.
First, place the raw egg carefully into the cup.
If it cracks, you need to try again.
Next, fill the cup with white vinegar
until the egg is completely submerged.
Now we have to let it sit for 24 hours
So, it’s been 24 hours and now let’s observe the egg.
So, we are going to take it out and did the egg get larger?
What does the shell now look like and feel like?
After you are done observing put the egg back in
and we are going to let it sit or another 48 hours or 2 days.
So, now it has been another 2 days or 3 days in total.
So, we are going to gently take out this egg
and we are going to go to the sink and rinse it with water.
Now here is the fun part,
we are going to take the egg and we are going to bounce it above our surface
or the plate in this case about 1-2 inches.
Like that! Now we got a bouncy egg!
And finally make sure to wash your hands after the egg pops.
So, what's the science behind all this?
When the white vinegar is poured into the cup with the egg,
little bubbles get egg-cited and start bubbling to the surface.
Why?
The secret is in the makeup of the shell and the vinegar.
The eggshell is made up of calcium carbonate
a chemical compound that can be found in the beautiful shells of marine animals and snails.
The white vinegar has acid in it.
The acid touches calcium carbonate
and calcium carbonate dissolves upon contact releasing bubbles of carbon dioxide
which it what we exhale out when we breathe.
After the shell dissolves, only the membrane remains.
This membrane is semi-permeable
meaning some things can pass through it while others can’t.
Vinegar has a special access
through this membrane and is absorbed by the egg.
That’s why the egg slowly egg-spands.
However, it doesn’t mix with the inside of the egg
so when it breaks the yolk is still intact.
Hopefully this eggs-periment was eggs-hilarating.
HatterStem out!
