Floating Eggs

You must have observed that when we lower eggs into normal tap water, it sinks to the bottom. Can you make an egg float? Yes, you can. You will find how in the below science project.

Floating Egg Experiment

Hypothesis

Eggs, when placed in salt water, float. In fresh water, they sink.

Materials

• Two drinking glasses
• Table Salt
• Two raw eggs
• Spoon
• Plain tap water

Instructions

1. Fill one glass almost to the top with regular tap water.
2. Gently drop one of the eggs into the water in the glass with the spoon. Make your observation about whether the egg sinks or floats.
3. Half fill the second glass with water.
4. Add 4 tbsp of table salt and stir well.
5. Fill the remaining glass with water, almost to the top.
6. Place the second egg in the salty water and observe if there is a different result.

Why Do Eggs Sink or Float?

The first egg sinks to the bottom of the glass as regular water has a lesser density than that of the egg. But, on making the water saline, its density increases and becomes more than that of the egg. Hence, it floats. In this connection, it may be mentioned that a body floats in a liquid that has a greater density than itself. If the liquid has a lesser density than the body, it will cause the body to sink.

How to Make an Egg Float: Video

Do Hard Boiled Eggs Float?

You can perform the experiment with hard-boiled eggs to get similar results.

Egg Float Test to Check for Bad Eggs

Egg shells are porous. As eggs become old, the fluid inside them evaporates, with air and oxygen filling up the interiors. You can perform a floating egg test to check if your eggs have become bad. A fresh egg will simply sink to the bottom of a jar of fresh cold water. Sitting at the bottom tilted to one side, or having its pointed end downwards still qualifies the egg as edible, though not as fresh as the previous case. However, if the egg floats, then it is stale and is not safe for consumption.

Surprise your friends in your next science fair with this trick. Let them first try floating eggs in fresh water. When they fail, you can produce your floating eggs and later explain the reason.