Bouncing Egg
Wit Bit
In today's experiment, we will be exploring how to convert a regular egg into a bouncy egg.
For this, we will just need an egg, vinegar and a glass. Take a glass and place our egg in it. Now add enough vinegar to submerge the egg. Keep this arrangement aside for 24 hours. You can check it from the outside but don't touch the egg. After twenty-four hours remove the egg from the vinegar. You will find that the egg has changed its fragile brittle shell to a bouncy membranous covering.
But how did this happen? It happens because vinegar is a dilute acid called acetic acid. The shell covering of the egg is made of calcium carbonate (the same substance present in bones and seashells). When the acid comes in contact with the Calcium is the shell it reacts and dissolves. The reaction also produces water and carbon dioxide. This is the reason you may have observed bubbles in the glass - they were carbon dioxide bubbles.
When the shell dissolves, the egg white or albumin comes in contact with the acid and the proteins get “denatured” or “cooked” in the acid. This makes the egg have a rubbery and bouncy feeling like that of a boiled egg. This is a fun and easy way to learn about the action of acid on substances.
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- Anika Vashisht