Science Projects Using Eggs and Vinegar

Eggs should be handled with care during science experiments.

Science experiments involving readily available household materials make practical projects for school children. Both eggs and vinegar are inexpensive and versatile in use and function, making them ideal ingredients in developing science projects. Note that eggs involved in science projects should never be eaten and hands should be washed after any experimentation to avoid salmonella poisoning.

Pressure at Work

Take a hard-boiled egg and prove that it doesn't fit into the opening of a glass bottle. With adult supervision, pour rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball. Have an adult light the cotton ball on fire and immediately drop it into the glass. The student then places the egg on the bottle opening. The flame changed the air pressure in the bottle so that the air pressure on the outside of the bottle pushes the egg into the bottle. To further prove the power of pressure, tip the bottle sideways and liberally dump baking soda all around the egg. Turn the bottle right-side up, pour one-eighth of a cup of vinegar into the bottle and instantly flip the bottle upside down so the egg blocks the bottle opening. Watch the pressure force the egg back out of the bottle.

Bouncing Raw Eggs

The Educator's Reference Desk recommends this experiment for students from kindergarten through eighth grade. An egg shell is made of high calcium content. Vinegar's acetic acid will react with the calcium, causing the shell to dissolve. Take a raw egg and submerge it into room-temperature vinegar for a minimum of three days. Use a plastic spoon to remove the egg from the solution and observe the egg. Students can feel that the shell is mostly dissolved. They can hold a flashlight up to the egg to see the yoke inside, and they can see if the egg will bounce. Students can decide to use this experiment to show how acid effects bones, as bones are made of calcium as well, or to show the differences between a raw egg with shell intact and a raw egg without a shell.

Egg Full of Air

An adult should use a sharp needle or tack to poke a hole in both ends of an egg. Scientist Steve Spangler recommends inserting a coffee stirrer into the egg to break the yoke before blowing out the inside of the egg into the sink. Submerge the egg shell into a glass of vinegar and wait 10 days. The vinegar will dissolve the calcium in the egg shell, leaving a thin membrane. Gently remove the egg membrane and blow a small stream of air into one end to blow it up. The egg will look real, but the students can fold, crush, and blow it back up again. Dust baby powder over the membrane to prevent it from drying out and place it in a carton of real eggs for the demonstration. Spangler recommends comparing organic eggs to store-bought eggs to see if the shell strengths differ.

References

• Elmhurt College
• The Educator's Reference Desk
• Steve Spangler Science