An eggs-tra big problem to solve

What a busy Spring Break it has been! Despite the little blizzard to start the week off, it has been quite pleasant weather wise.

I know that I was able to get out and enjoy the warm sunny afternoons and even catch up on a few things around the yard. This weekend though I will be in the kitchen taking part in some egg dying. This is a fun activity to do with family but if you have little ones in the kitchen, things can get mixed up rather quickly …here is a fool proof experiment to help you if you have an eggs-tra big problem on your hands. Let’s get started!

Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment.

Materials

• One hardboiled egg

• One raw egg

• Plastic egg filled with plasticine or silly putty

• Plastic egg filled with water

• Science notebook

• Pen or pencil

• Permanent marker

Procedure

• Mark the “real” eggs with a No. 1 on one and a No. 2 on the other. Repeat with the plastic eggs.

• Examine the two “real” eggs. One is hard boiled and one is raw. Can you tell just by looking at them? Write your observations down in your science notebook for egg No. 1 and egg No. 2. Do they feel different? Smell different? Look different?

• Examine the two plastic eggs. Can you tell which egg has the water in it and which one has the silly putty? Make some observations and record these in your science notebook.

• Take plastic egg No. 1. Spin the egg. What is going on? Record your observations.

• Repeat for egg No. 2.Is there a difference?

• Spin the plastic egg, but this time, stop it with your hand and then let it go. Observe what happens.

• Open the eggs up and make note of which egg had water in it and which one had plasticine in it. In your science notebook, record your thoughts on why they acted differently.

• Repeat steps 3 – 6. Note any differences between the two eggs in your notebook.

• Based on your experiment and observations, guess which egg is hard boiled and which one is raw.

• The moment of truth — find out which is which! Crack them open.

What is going on?

In this experiment you should have observed that the raw egg did not spin very well at all. It likely rocked and wobbled all over before coming to a stop. This is because the liquid yolk and white part of the egg contain different densities. This raw inside flows from side to side as the egg spins, hitting against the shell and forcing it to move all over the place. This would be very similar to the plastic egg with the water in it sloshing all over as it tries to spin around.

A solid, hard-boiled egg, on the other hand, will spin smoothly. There is nothing “sloshing” around inside the egg shell to slow it down. When it is hard boiled it is completely solid inside of that shell with nothing to move around slowing it down.

Now, if you experience the same problem with a mix up as I did, you can easily solve it without wasting any of those eggs!

Do not forget to register for the upcoming Science Evening in conjunction with the Redcliff Public Library. We have a couple of exciting hands on activities planned and I hope you can join us. Pre-registration is required and space is limited, so do not delay!! Call them today at 403.548.3335.

Patty Rooks, Senior Scientific Consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community”. Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, www. praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook. Address: #12 826 11 Street S. E., Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403.527.5365, email: praxis@ praxismh.ca.