The *Autumn* Science Club is a collection of fun, kid-friendly science experiments and STEM projects explained.
As school ends, millions of kids are released from a strict schedule of learning and innovating. As a kid who grew up with a science teacher, a mom, and an engineering dad, I spent my summers doing science experiments and STEM projects. I came out of every summer with many new skills and knowledge of the world around me. Now, working with young kids at the library, I teach these experiments to others.
Two things come to mind when I think of fall: It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! And the egg experiment my mom does every year in her classroom. The egg experiment is one of the most fun science experiments that my mom does. I have been helping her test out this experiment every year for a very long time. She does several tests with these eggs in her life science class.
The hard shell of an egg is made of calcium carbonate. The thin and flexible membrane inside of the egg is made of a material that won't dissolve in vinegar. White vinegar is made out of 96% water and 4% acetic acid. This dissolves the hard shell and produces water, carbon dioxide, and calcium acetate. The membrane is left and holds the egg together and, makes it bouncy and squishy.
Materials
1 Egg
Glass or plastic cup
Plastic wrap
Vinegar
Sugar syrup
Water
Egg-Experiment: Phase One
Measure the egg with a ruler and weigh it. Record this so you can compare after.
Put the egg in a cup and fill it with vinegar to cover the egg and then some.
Cover the cup with plastic (so your house won't smell like vinegar)
Wait 48 hours and watch as the hard shell of the egg starts to dissolve.
Drain the vinegar and hold your egg very carefully. Put a bowl or tray under the eggs and have paper towels on hand because the egg might burst. You might have to rub some of the shell or keep the egg in the vinegar for a few more days. The egg will be very squishy as the hard shell is gone.
Measure and weigh the egg again. The egg will be slightly bigger because some of the water in the vinegar passes through the egg's membrane now that the hard shell isn't in the way.
Phase Two
The next part of this experiment is to deflate the egg.
To make a simple syrup, add one cup of water to 1.5 cups of sugar in a saucepan and cook it till it dissolves. Cool the mixture before adding it to the egg.
Rinse off the egg and add it to a cup of simple syrup.
Wait for a day or two.
Very gently pick up the egg. It will feel very deflated. Be very careful because this is the point where it will burst. The egg is deflated because all of the water has been sucked out of it by the sugar.
Phase Three
There isn't much you can do with the sack of an egg, so let's add the water back to the egg.
Add the egg to a cup of water, add a few drops of food coloring, and wait a couple of days.
When you take the egg out of the water, it becomes bouncy and squishy like it was before.
At this point, you can keep going back and forth between the sugar and the water to inflate and deflate the egg, but if you're one with the experiment, you can pop the egg. It will be very messy and possibly colored if you add food coloring.
Why doesn't this happen to a regular egg? The hard shell protects the membrane, which is more porous than the hard shell. Osmosis is when liquid passes through the membrane so that the outside and inside liquid are the same. The membrane is exposed when the vinegar is added the first time, and then water can pass through more than it could before.
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