Acid Egg Bath

This week I wanted to do a very simple experiment that the kids could observe without having to do a lot of preparation work. The acid egg bath turned out to be a perfect fit. It was a fun experiment to observe and taught the kids about chemical reactions (which I explained in a very simple yet scientific way for my little guys).

Materials Needed:
A glass jar with a lid
A hard boiled egg (make a few in case you crack one by mistake)
Vinegar

I created a simple worksheet that I walked through with Oliver.  I asked him questions and wrote down his responses, so that I could read them back to him as we were observing the egg over time. What you see below are the questions that are on the worksheet. The purple writing is what I recorded for Oliver during our experiment. Simply, place the hard boiled egg in the glass jar and cover it completely with the vinegar. Then, seal the jar and observe! We checked the egg for the first time after four hours and then let it soak overnight to be checked again in the morning.

Acid Egg Bath

Prediction: What do you think will happen to the egg when it takes an acid bath in Vinegar? (Oliver’s responses are in purple on this page for you to see and a separate blank copy is available below.)

I think the egg will bounce around the jar and will feel soft.

     

Describe the egg before it takes the egg bath. (How does it look, smell, and feel)

*The egg looks round

*The egg feels hard and smooth

*We have to be careful so that the egg doesn't crack

*The egg spins on the counter (in a circle)

*The egg cracked when we hit it on the counter

Describe what the egg looks like during the egg bath. (How does it look, smell, and feel)

*The egg has bubbles all over it (Oliver drew bubbles on the picture of the egg that appears in the blank worksheet I have provided below)

*After 4 hours the shell was getting really soft and we could make dents in it with our fingers

*The egg is spinning in the jar going one way and then the other (this was due to the uneven yolk inside)

*The egg is floating

Describe the egg after the egg bath. (How does it look, smell, and feel)

* The egg was really soft and squishy

*The egg bounced on the counter

*It smelled bad (vinegarJ)

*You can’t see the shell anymore

Blank Worksheet:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-4_yroOwt-aN0tLU0htZHk1aTA/edit

Scientific Explanation for Experiment: The carbon dioxide bubbles and soft, disappearing eggshell indicate a reaction between the two chemicals.  Eggshells contain calcium carbonate(a base), white vinegar is made up of acetic acid. Vinegar reacts with and dissolves the calcium carbonate creating a soft shell.