HOLLAND, Mich. — Eggs are a unique food for all of the ways they can be consumed, whether it be hard boiled, scrambled, over easy or broken in an egg toss competition. But what about an egg's buoyancy? And how does a hard boiled egg float compared to a raw egg? In this week's weather kids experiment, Meteorologist Reece Cole teaches students from Mrs. Modert's and Mrs. Essenberg's classes at South Olive Christian School. Together, they analyze different types of water with eggs and see how they interact with each other, working to get an egg to balance in the middle of a jar full of water!
Here's what you need:
1) 2 eggs
2) 3 mason jars
3) 1/3 cup of salt
4) Water
Optional) Food coloring to distinguish water from clear jar.
Here are the steps:
1) Fill one mason jar fully with fresh water, one fully with water while mixing the 1/3 cup of salt, and another half full with salt water.
2) Put the 1 egg in each of the full water mason jars. Here, you will see one egg sink to the bottom and another remain floating at the top of the jar. Notice which one is which? Salt water is more dense than an egg, so the egg will float on top. Meanwhile, fresh water is not as dense as an egg, allowing for it to sink right to the bottom.
3) Move the egg from the fresh water jar into the 1/2 full jar of salt water, the egg should be floating. Then, slow pour fresh water into that mason jar.
4) Watch as the egg remains steady in the middle of the salt water on the bottom and the fresh water on top!
Why does this egg stay in the middle of the mason jar split between two types of water? Well, the eggs density is more than the fresh water above, but less than the salt water below. The egg finds its equilibrium of density between the two, allowing the egg to appear stuck in the middle.