Want to learn how to make a bouncy egg to play with your friends?Too easy!You will only need white vinegar, an egg and a clear glass container (this could be a empty and clean jar of mayonnaise, olives or palm hearts that we buy in supermarkets, You know?!).
The jumping egg experiment is done as follows:Place the egg inside the transparent jar, cover it completely with vinegar and let it rest for 2 to 3 days.
Egg in Vinegar Experience
The egg can be raw or boiled, depending on what kind of bouncy egg you want. If you use a raw egg, you will get an egg that looks like a rubber bladder filled with water, that is, on the outside there will be an elastic layer, but on the inside the egg will remain soft as before. So, in that case, you cannot drop the egg from great heights, as it will explode. But from very low heights, it will normally jump over the surface. Now, if you want a sturdier bouncy egg, use a hard-boiled egg.
But why do eggs become bouncy after being soaked in vinegar for a while?
The eggshell is formed by calcium carbonate (CaCO 3), and vinegar is mainly composed of an acid mixed with water, acetic acid (H3C-COOH). When these two substances come into contact, a chemical transformation, that is, the atoms of the elements of these two substances perform a kind of exchange of place with each other, undoing some bonds and forming new bonds. This causes new substances to be formed.
Thus, calcium carbonate breaks down, but the membrane around the egg (in the inner part of the eggshell) does not break down but becomes elastic.
Among the compounds formed in this chemical reaction, there is a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2). That's why, over the time the egg is immersed in vinegar, bubbles form.
Another factor that can be seen in this experiment is that egg size increases. This is because the water in the vinegar can pass through the tiny pores of the membrane that surrounds the egg, so it swells up. This phenomenon is called osmosis.
By Jennifer Fogaça
Graduated in Chemistry
