For this Year 6 science experiment you need:

What to do:

  1. Put 1 whole raw egg in a glass of water.
  2. Put 1 whole raw egg in a glass of vinegar.
  3. Leave them for a few hours.
  4. Have a look at the eggs. The one in the water is the same. The one in the vinegar has started to fizz. The acid in the vinegar is dissolving the calcium carbonate that is in the shell.
  5. Touch the egg in the vinegar. It should feel like a rubber ball.
  6. Leave both eggs alone for 7 days.
  7. Take the vinegar egg into a dark room and shine the torch at it. The light should bounce off the egg. When this occurs:
    1. Take the vinegar egg out of the glass. Hold the egg over the bowl.
    2. Drop the egg

    What happens:
    The egg bounces.

    Try it again getting a little bit higher each time. See how high you can make the egg bounce. Now try it with the egg from the glass of water.

    Why it happens: A chemical change occurs in the egg left in vinegar. The vinegar, which is an acid, reacts with the calcium carbonate in the eggshell. The change makes the shell soften, then disappear. This is known as "decalcifying". The egg in the glass of water does not change (unless it's hot water, in which case the egg will cook...but that's another story).

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