Your kitchen makes a great laboratory!

Learn about chemistry and biology topics as you

explore there. And if you’re looking for a science fair project idea, your kitchen is a great
place to start. Most of these projects take about a week before you see any results.

Dissolve an Eggshell

Make an egg shell disappear without touching it! Set a raw egg in
a glass of white vinegar (acetic acid), so that it’s completely covered in the liquid. Bubbles
should start to form on the surface of the egg almost immediately. Let it sit for a week and
then carefully take the egg out. What happened? The acid ‘ate’ away and dissolved the
calcium carbonate that the shell is made out of! There might be some chalky white residue
left on the egg that you can gently scrape off. The inside of the egg is still intact, though,
because vinegar doesn’t break down the egg membrane. The egg also swells up, because
some of the liquid seeps inside it. You should be able to see the yellow yolk through the
membrane. How does the shell-less egg feel? Pick it up carefully to avoid popping it.