How do we normally remove an eggshell? If it is a raw egg, we just break the shell in one go. If it is a hard-boiled one, we break the shell in bits and pieces. But there is a way to break the shell of a raw egg with the egg remaining intact. This egg in vinegar experiment will explain how it can be done.
Materials Required
Raw eggs – 2
Glass container – 1 (should be big enough to put 2 eggs)
Vinegar – enough to fill the container
Water – 1 glass
Corn syrup – 1 glass
Steps to Follow
- Pour vinegar into the container.
- Put both the raw eggs into the vinegar. Immerse the eggs completely in the solution.
- Keep the container for a day. Observe what is happening. Note down your observations.
- We can see tiny bubbles rising from the sides of the eggs. These bubbles are carbon dioxide formed due to the reaction between acetic acid and calcium carbonate.
- Take out the eggs after 24 hours. See if you can easily rub off the egg shell.
- If it is not possible, dip the eggs in fresh vinegar for one more day.
- Take out the eggs after another day. You will be able to wipe off the eggshell. You can see that the eggs have become translucent and rubbery. Hold them towards light, and you can see the yellow yolk inside.
- In the next stage of our experiment, we will see the effect of osmosis happening on egg.
- For this, dip one of the eggs in a glass of water. Dip the other egg in corn syrup.
- Leave both the glasses for a day.
- Examine the eggs after one day. The egg in the water has expanded.
- Examine the egg in the corn syrup. You will see that it has wrinkled and shrunk in size.
What we learn
What is the reason behind this transformation of egg? Eggshell is made of calcium carbonate, and vinegar contains acetic acid. When egg is soaked in vinegar, calcium carbonate reacts with acetic acid to release carbon dioxide. In this process, the entire shell is used up, and there remains the egg without shell. It still holds the shape because of thin membranes surrounding the inner part.
In the second stage of the experiment, we saw the effect of osmosis on eggs. When the egg is put in water, there is greater concentration of water outside the egg, than inside it. So water from the container diffuses through the semi-permeable egg membrane, into the egg.
The egg put in corn syrup wrinkles up after a day. This is because corn syrup has lesser concentration of water than the egg. So water diffuses from the egg to the syrup. Osmosis causes the movement of water through the semi-permeable egg membrane, from the area where water concentration is more to the area where water concentration is less.
Did you find this egg in vinegar experiment interesting? Go to our Experiments section for more.
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