3

(after a day in water)

(after a day in corn syrup)

Put each egg in a container labeled Egg 1 or Egg 2. Pour in enough vinegar to cover

the egg. Cover the container. Do you see bubbles forming around the egg? These are

bubbles of CO2 which result from the chemical reaction between the acetic acid in

the vinegar and the calcium carbonate in the eggshell. This reaction will dissolve

most of the eggshell by day 2.

Day 2

➤ Observe your eggs. Notice that most of the shell has been dissolved by the acetic

acid in the vinegar. The shell membrane around the egg is fairly strong. However,

the egg without its shell is fragile, so you will need to handle your eggs very gently

and carefully!

Rinse each egg and measure the weight or circumference of each egg. Record your

results for day 2 in the above table.

1a. Did the eggs become heavier/larger

or lighter/smaller

1b. What do you think happened to cause the change in the eggs' weight/size?

➤ Empty the vinegar from the container for egg 1 and rinse the container. Put egg 1

back in the container and add water to cover the egg.

➤ Empty the vinegar from the container for egg 2 and rinse the container. Put egg 2

back in the container and add corn syrup to cover the egg.

Day 3

2. Compare and contrast the appearance of the egg that has been in water vs. the egg

that has been in corn syrup.

3. You may be able to see a layer of water on top of the corn syrup. Where do you think

this water came from?

Rinse the corn syrup off of egg 2. Measure and record the weight and/or

circumference of the egg for day 3 in the table on page 1.

4. Why did the egg placed in water get heavier and bigger? Where do you think the

additional weight/volume came from?