pressure egg experiment

Egg in a Bottle – Air Pressure Experiment

• April 21, 2021
• 10 Minute Science , 7-9 Year Olds , Physics

Science is amazing as it does wonders in our real life and around the world.

Today, Let’s explore “Egg in a Bottle”, which proves using simple science concepts anyone can put an egg into a bottle without touching it.

Yes, the egg can move into a bottle without any external help but with the help of science.

Objectives in this Science Activity

Using this experiment, children can learn,

1) Relation between Temperature and Pressure

2) Impact of air pressure on objects

3) Impact of air pressure in our daily activities

4) Properties of air

Amazed! Yes, though the experiment is quick and simple, it carries a lot of scientific information to inspire young scientists.

Egg in a Bottle – Experiment

Supplies required

1) One glass container or jar. Make sure the opening of the glass jar is smaller than the size of a boiled egg because to fit the egg perfectly instead of slipping into the jar easily. Milk and Juice bottles work well for this purpose.

2) A small piece of Paper

3) Fire source i.e. a candle or lighter or a matchbox

4) One or two boiled eggs

Preparations

Just before the experiment, pick fresh and raw eggs and boil them until they turn hard. Probably, this step takes 7-10 minutes.

Once boiled, peel off the outer shell part of the boiled egg and wash it under tap water to remove any hard remnants attached to the egg. Then, keep it aside on the experiment table.

Simple Step by Step Instructions

Step-1:  Place a clean and transparent glass jar on the experiment table.

And then pick a piece of paper and burn it using a lighter. Please make sure the paper is folded into a strip such that it is easy for you to drop it into the jar bottle.

Step-2:  When the paper catches fire, immediately drop it into the glass jar placed on the work table. You must drop the burning paper into the jar before the fire goes off.

Step-3:  Now, Place the hard-boiled egg on top of the glass jar opening perfectly. Then observe the results.

Results:  You will observe the egg slowly moving into the bottle. At times, the egg will go into the glass bottle as it is without any breakages, but sometimes it may spill while squeezing into the bottle.

Note:  If your egg fails or feeling difficult to slip down into the bottle, then you can apply vegetable oil around the neck of the bottle. Greasing oil helps the egg to move into the bottle easily.

Are you surprised watching an egg going into the bottle without any help from external forces? Do you want to learn that magical science trick? Then, let us discuss how this simple science activity worked out very well.

The Science Concepts behind The Egg in a Bottle Experiment

Air is a matter of substance, and hence it contains weight and other assets like density and pressure.

Generally, the air surrounding us or objects does not show any pressure because it surrounds with equal pressure.

But when there is additional pressure in the air, it starts showing its pressure through moving objects by push and pull trials.

In this science activity, we will observe that air shows its pressure when the opportunity is given.

Egg moving into the bottle without touching by external sources proves that air pressure is acting upon it. Let us discuss it in detail.

Before the experiment begins, the pressure of the air surrounding and inside the jar is the same as it is equally distributed.

That means the pressure inside and outside the glass bottle is the same at the beginning of the experiment.

But when we placed the burning paper into the glass bottle, the air inside the jar starts to expand. Because air molecules expand when it gets warmed up, and this is the specific characteristic of air.

And as soon as the egg is placed upon the opening of the glass bottle, the fire goes off, and the air molecules begin to cool down.

As the air molecules cool down, they start contracting themselves by lowering the air pressure inside the glass bottle.

That means there is a difference in the air pressure existing inside and outside the glass bottle.

Because there is less air pressure inside the bottle. The egg slowly squeezes into the bottle as the outside pressure pushes it from outside.

Yes, when the air molecules inside the bottle cool down, it offers more space to welcome additional air molecules.

In this process, the outside air molecules rush into the bottle to fill the spaces. So, it keeps pressure on the egg and helps it slip down into the bottle.

Extension Ideas

You can try out the experiment using other supplies such as boiling water and a balloon.

1) Use boiled water instead of paper inside the bottle and do the experiment

2) Try out using an inflated balloon filled with water in the place of a boiled egg.

Interesting Air Pressure Activities for Kids

Balloon in a Bottle

Crushing Can Experiment

Drip Drop Water Bottle – Science Behind Water Dispenser

Balloon in Hot and Cold Water

Tips to Teacher s

Here are the important questions a teacher can ask to make the students involved completely during the experiment. And to encourage them to participate in revealing and understanding the science behind the experiment.

1) What made an egg move into the bottle without touching it?

2) Why only eggs must be used in this science activity?

3) Are there any other possibilities to change the pressure of the air inside and outside the bottle?

4) Will the egg come out of the bottle again? If Yes, How?

5) What are the properties of air that made the egg move into the bottle?

Safety Measures

As we are dealing with fire, children need to be very careful while performing this activity. It is better to put on their safety guards even though an adult or teacher performs the activity. Adult supervision is a must when a child is performing this activity on his/her own.

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Egg in a Bottle Experiment – Two Easy Methods

The Egg in a Bottle experiment is a classic science project that demonstrates the principles of air pressure in a fun and visually appealing way. Here are two different methods for performing this project, each highlighting how changing temperature in turn changes air pressure and forces a hard-boiled egg into a bottle.

Egg in a Bottle Experiment Materials

• Glass bottle with a neck slightly narrower than the egg’s diameter
• Peeled hard-boiled egg
• Matches or lighter
• Small piece of paper

Finding the right size of bottle is a challenge. Remember there are different sizes of eggs available for sale. A sturdy plastic bottle is an option instead of glass, but sometimes the temperature and pressure change deforms the bottle.

Egg in a Bottle Using a Burning Piece of Paper – Method #1

• Preparation: Peel the hard-boiled egg.
• Ignite the Paper: Light a small piece of paper using matches or a lighter. Just using a wooden match works too, but a piece of paper typically burns longer and changes the temperature inside the bottle more.
• Place the Paper in the Bottle: Quickly drop the burning paper into the bottle.
• Position the Egg: Immediately place the peeled egg on the neck of the bottle. If you like, wet the egg with water so it is a bit slippery. Sometimes this helps a larger egg fit through a smaller hole.
• Observation: After the flame goes out, the temperature inside the bottle cools and the egg slides into the bottle. Note: the egg does not enter the bottle because fire consumes oxygen! Oxygen merely rearranges into other compounds.

Explanation

When you drop the burning paper into the bottle, it heats the air inside. Heat gives molecules kinetic energy so they move more rapidly and have an increased number of collisions with the wall of the bottle. In other words, heat increases the air pressure inside the bottle . When you place the egg on the bottle, it seals it. Fresh air does not enter the bottle, so the flame consumes the oxygen and then goes out. As the air cools down, it contracts, creating a lower pressure inside the bottle compared to the outside air. The higher external air pressure pushes the egg into the bottle.

Egg in a Bottle Using Hot and Cold Water – Method #2

• Heat the Bottle: Place the bottle in hot water, which heats the air inside. (Do not submerge the bottle and fill it with water.)
• Position the Egg: After a few minutes, remove the bottle from the hot water and quickly place the peeled egg on the neck of the bottle. (If you like, place the egg on the bottle and then heat it. It makes no difference.)
• Cool the Bottle: Immerse the bottom of the bottle in cold water.
• Observation: The air inside cools and contracts. The outside air has a higher pressure than the air inside the bottle, pushing the egg through the bottle opening.

Heating the bottle with hot water expands the air inside the bottle. Some of it escapes the bottle. The egg seals the bottle. When you place the bottle in cold water, the air inside cools down and contracts, creating a lower pressure inside the bottle. The higher external air pressure pushes the egg into the bottle.

How to Get the Egg Out of the Bottle

There are ways of getting the egg back out of the bottle without breaking it up. Here are three methods:

Method 1: Reversing the Pressure

• Tilt the Bottle: Turn the bottle upside down so the egg is at the neck.
• Blow Air into the Bottle: Carefully create a seal around the bottle’s mouth with your lips and blow air forcefully into the bottle.
• Increase Pressure: The increased air pressure inside the bottle pushes the egg back out through the neck.

Method 2: Lubrication Method

This method works if there is only a small size difference between the egg and the bottle opening.

• Add Lubricant: Apply a thin layer of cooking oil or dish soap around the neck of the bottle and the surface of the egg to reduce friction.
• Position the Bottle: Turn the bottle upside down so the egg is at the neck.
• Gently Shake: Gently shake the bottle. The force of shaking helps slide the egg out. The lubricant makes it easier for the egg to pass through the neck of the bottle.

Method 3: Temperature Change

• Position the Egg: Tilt the bottle upside down so the egg is at the neck.
• Heat the Bottle: Once the egg is in the bottle neck, carefully change the bottle’s position so you can heat it. Submerge the bottom of the bottle in hot water and heat the air inside. As the air expands, pressure increases and pushes the egg out.

Of course, there is a chance these methods won’t work if the egg is too big. If you really need the egg removed and pressure is not working, insert a stick or wire into the bottle, break the egg, and shake out the pieces.

Relation to the Ideal Gas Law and the Combined Gas Law

The gas law that predicts the behavior of the egg in a bottle experiment is the Combined Gas Law , which is a special case of the Ideal Gas Law .

The equation for the Ideal Gas Law is PV = nRT, where:

• P is the pressure
• V is the volume
• n is the number of moles of gas
• R is the ideal gas constant
• T is the temperature

In this experiment, the burning paper or hot water increases the temperature (T) of the air inside the bottle. According to the Ideal Gas Law, if the volume (V) of the bottle remains constant, an increase in temperature results in an increase in pressure (P). When you place the egg on the bottle and the air inside cools, the temperature decreases, leading to a decrease in pressure. The external air pressure (higher P) then pushes the egg into the bottle to equalize the pressure difference.

For the most part, the number of moles of air, volume of air (volume of the jar), and ideal gas constant remain the same throughout the project. This makes using the Combined Gas Law possible. The Combined Gas Law is a rearrangement of the Ideal Gas Law that combines Boyle’s Law, Charles’s Law, and Gay-Lussac’s Law. The Combined Gas Law is given by:

P 1 V 1 /T 1 = P 2 V 2 /T 2

• P is the pressure of the gas
• V is the volume of the gas
• T is the temperature of the gas (in Kelvin)
• Subscripts 1 and 2 refer to the initial and final states of the gas, respectively.

So, if volume remains the same, the equation only balances out when temperature and pressure both increase or both decrease.

Method 1: Using a Burning Piece of Paper

• The burning paper heats the air inside the bottle, increase the temperature (T 1 ).
• As the temperature increases, the pressure (P 1 ​) inside the bottle also increases.
• Some of the air escapes the bottle because of the increased pressure. But, it’s not enough to affect the outcome.
• The flame consumes the oxygen and the fire goes out, decreasing the temperature (T 2​ ) to decrease.
• As the temperature decreases, the pressure (P 2 ) inside the bottle decreases. A common misconception is that the pressure decreases because the flame consumes oxygen, forming a partial vacuum. This is incorrect because no oxygen is lost. Instead, combustion forms carbon dioxide and water using carbon and hydrogen from the match or paper. The number and type of atoms inside the bottle remains the same.
• The volume of the bottle (V) remains constant, so the decrease in pressure creates a partial vacuum inside the bottle.
• The lower pressure inside the bottle (P 2 ​) compared to the atmospheric pressure outside causes the higher external pressure to push the egg into the bottle to equalize the pressure difference.

Method 2: Using Hot and Cold Water

• Heating the bottle in hot water increases the temperature (T 1 ​) of the air inside the bottle.
• The increased temperature causes the air to expand, and some air escapes the bottle, slightly increasing the volume temporarily.
• Placing the bottle in cold water cools the air inside, decreasing the temperature (T 2​ ).
• As the temperature decreases, the pressure (P 2 ​) inside the bottle decreases.
• The volume of the bottle (V) is effectively constant after the initial escape of some air, so the decrease in pressure creates a partial vacuum inside the bottle.
• Castka, Joseph F.; Metcalfe, H. Clark; Davis, Raymond E.; Williams, John E. (2002).  Modern Chemistry . Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 978-0-03-056537-3.
• Clausius, R. (1857). “Ueber die Art der Bewegung, welche wir Wärme nennen”.  Annalen der Physik und Chemie  (in German). 176 (3): 353–79. doi: 10.1002/andp.18571760302
• Raff, Lionel M. (2001)  Principles of Physical Chemistry  (1st ed.). Pearson College Div. ISBN:  978-0130278050.

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Science Experiments

Egg in a Bottle Science Experiment

Can eggs move by themselves? Maybe not, but with the help of air pressure, they can be pushed into a glass bottle without being touched!

In this experiment, your young scientists will learn about density and air pressure. And when you watch our demonstration video, you’ll see that although things didn’t go exactly as we expected, this experiment is always fun and educational. Printable instructions and a materials list are included.

JUMP TO SECTION: Instructions | Video Tutorial | How it Works

Supplies Needed

• Hard-Boiled Egg (shell removed)
• Glass Bottle
• Thick Piece of Paper
• Match or Lighter

Safety Note: Because the experiment involves fire, adult supervision is required.

Egg in a Bottle Science Lab Kit – Only $5

Use our easy Egg in a Bottle Science Lab Kit to grab your students’ attention without the stress of planning!

It’s everything you need to  make science easy for teachers and fun for students  — using inexpensive materials you probably already have in your storage closet!

Egg in a Bottle Science Experiment Instructions

Step 1 – Remove the shell from the hard-boiled egg and place it on the mouth of the jar. Take a moment to make some observations. Why doesn’t the egg fit into the jar? Do you think it is possible to put the egg inside the jar? Do you think it is possible for the egg to move into the jar without touching it?

Step 2 –  Remove the egg from the jar and set it on the table nearby. Make sure that you place it within reach because you’ll need to move quickly once it’s time to place the egg on the bottle again. 

Step 2 – Get your strip of thick paper ready. Note that using thick paper is important because you need something that won’t burn too quickly when you light it on fire. We tore off a piece from an index card. Construction paper would also work nicely.

Carefully use a lighter to light the piece of paper on fire. Safety Note: Remember to always use safety measures when dealing with fire. Adult supervision is required.

Step 4 – Once the paper is burning, carefully but quickly drop it into the glass bottle.

Step 5 – Immediately after you put the paper in the bottle, place the egg on the top of the bottle.

Step 6 – Watch as the egg begins to slowly move into the bottle. If you are lucky the egg will stay in one piece as it moves into the bottle. Or if you are like us, the egg will eventually split as it is squeezed into the mouth of the bottle. Watch the Egg in a Bottle Experiment Video Tutorial to see what happens to our egg.

Were you surprised when the egg began to move into the jar? Do you know why it did? Read the how does this experiment work section before to find the answer. 

Egg in a Bottle Science Experiment Video Tutorial

How Does the Experiment Work?

Air has mass, so it has other properties like pressure and density. Air is able to push or crush objects when given the opportunity. We don’t often see air pushing or crushing objects because air molecules surrounding objects push on objects equally in all directions. In this experiment, you get to see the power of air!

Air pressure is the reason the egg moves into the bottle without us touching the egg. Let’s go over exactly what happened.

When we started the experiment, the air pressure inside the bottle was the same as the air pressure outside of the bottle because the air inside the bottle and outside the bottle was the same temperature.

After we placed the burning paper in the bottle, the air inside the bottle began to heat up and expand. A few seconds after we placed the egg on top of the bottle, the fire went out and the paper stopped burning. This caused the air inside the bottle to cool down and contract.

When the air contracts, the air pressure inside the bottle becomes less than the air pressure outside the bottle. This gives the higher air pressure outside of the bottle the opportunity to push the egg down into the bottle.

I hope you enjoyed the experiment. Here are some printable instructions:

• Hard Boiled Egg (Shell Removed)

Instructions

• Position the egg near the empty bottle. This is needed because you have to move fast once it is time to place the egg on the bottle.
• Take a strip of thick paper. Think paper is important, because you need something that won’t burn too quickly when you light it on fire during the next step. Helpful Tip: I used a piece of index card. Construction paper would also work nicely.
• Light the piece of paper and drop it into the bottle. Remember to always use safety measures when dealing with fire.
• Once the paper is burning, carefully but quickly drop it into the glass bottle.
• Immediately after you put the paper in the bottle, place the egg on the top of the bottle.
• Watch as the egg begins to slowly move into the bottle. Helpful Tip: If you are lucky the egg will stay in one piece as it moves into the bottle. Or if you are like us, the egg will eventually split as it is squeezed into the mouth of the bottle. Watch the Egg in a Bottle Experiment Video to see what happens to our egg.

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The egg in a bottle demonstration is an easy chemistry or physics demonstration you can do at home or in the lab. You set an egg on top of a bottle (as pictured). You change the temperature of the air inside the container either by dropping a piece of burning paper into the bottle or by directly heating/cooling the bottle. Air pushes the egg into the bottle.

• Peeled hard-boiled egg (or soft-boiled, if a yolky mess interests you)
• Flask or jar with an opening slightly smaller than the diameter of the egg
• Paper/lighter or very hot water or very cold liquid

In a chemistry lab , this demonstration is most commonly performed using a 250-ml flask and a medium or large egg. If you are trying this demonstration at home, you can use a glass apple juice bottle. If you use too large of an egg, it will get sucked into the bottle, but stuck (resulting in a gooey mess if the egg was soft-boiled). We recommend a medium egg for most bottles. An extra-large egg gets wedged in the bottle.

Perform the Demonstration

• Method 1 : Set a piece of paper on fire and drop it into the bottle. Set the egg on top of the bottle (small side pointed downward). When the flame goes out, the egg will get pushed into the bottle.
• Method 2 : Set the egg on the bottle. Run the bottle under very hot tap water. Warmed air will escape around the egg. Set the bottle on the counter. As it cools, the egg will be pushed into the bottle.
• Method 3 : Set the egg on the bottle. Immerse the bottle in a very cold liquid. We have heard of this being done using liquid nitrogen , but that sounds dangerous (could shatter the glass). We recommend trying ice water. The egg is pushed in as the air inside the bottle is chilled.

How It Works

If you just set the egg on the bottle, its diameter is too large for it to slip inside. The pressure of the air inside and outside of the bottle is the same, so the only force that would cause the egg to enter the bottle is gravity. Gravity isn't sufficient to pull the egg inside the bottle.

When you change the temperature of the air inside the bottle, you change the pressure of the air inside the bottle. If you have a constant volume of air and heat it, the pressure of the air increases. If you cool the air, the pressure decreases. If you can lower the pressure inside the bottle enough, the air pressure outside the bottle will push the egg into the container.

It's easy to see how the pressure changes when you chill the bottle, but why is the egg pushed into the bottle when heat is applied? When you drop burning paper into the bottle, the paper will burn until the oxygen is consumed (or the paper is consumed, whichever comes first). Combustion heats the air in the bottle, increasing the air pressure. The heated air pushes the egg out of the way, making it appear to jump on the mouth of the bottle. As the air cools, the egg settles down and seals the mouth of the bottle. Now there is less air in the bottle than when you started, so it exerts less pressure. When the temperature inside and outside the bottle is the same, there is enough positive pressure outside the bottle to push the egg inside.

Heating the bottle produces the same result (and may be easier to do if you can't keep the paper burning long enough to put the egg on the bottle). The bottle and the air are heated. Hot air escapes from the bottle until the pressure both inside and outside the bottle is the same. As the bottle and air inside continue to cool, a pressure gradient builds, so the egg is pushed into the bottle.

How to Get the Egg Out

You can get the egg out by increasing the pressure inside the bottle so that it is higher than the pressure of the air outside of the bottle. Roll the egg around so it is situated with the small end resting in the mouth of the bottle. Tilt the bottle just enough so you can blow air inside the bottle. Roll the egg over the opening before you take your mouth away. Hold the bottle upside down and watch the egg fall out of the bottle. Alternatively, you can apply negative pressure to the bottle by sucking the air out, but then you risk choking on an egg, so that's not a good plan.

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Egg in a Bottle

Air pressure and vacuums experiment.

The experiment for this week is another classic, but a very misunderstood one. You will even find that many books of science experiments get this one wrong.

You will need:

• a hard boiled egg
• a wine carafe or bottle with a neck that is just a little too small for
• the egg to fit through
• a piece of paper
• matches or a lighter

Warning: This experiment uses fire, so be careful and follow all safety procedures. Never do fire experiments when you are alone, even if you are an adult. If you are not an adult, then at least one of the people with you should be an adult. Think through the experiment before you try it, to be sure that everything you do is safe.

Once you get the egg peeled, then you have to put it in the bottle. Gently place it on the top of the bottle. Not much happens. It just sits there. If you tried to push the egg into the bottle with your fingers, the egg would tear. We want the egg to be whole when it is inside the bottle. How are we going to do it?

We will start by removing the egg from the top of the bottle. CAREFULLY hold a piece of paper about one inch wide and three inches long. While you are holding one end, use the match to light the other end. As soon as it is burning, drop it into the bottle and quickly place the egg on top. Watch carefully what happens.

The paper burns for a second or two. As the fire goes out, the egg begins to move downwards into the bottle. It squeezes through the neck and drops into the bottle. How did that happen?

Most books will tell you that the paper burned up the oxygen, lowering the air pressure inside the bottle, and that the greater air pressure on the outside of the bottle pushed the egg inside. They get the part about the air pressure right, but the lowered pressure in the bottle is not due to burning up the oxygen.

When you burn paper in oxygen, the carbon in the paper combines with oxygen in the air to form a new gas called carbon dioxide. This gas takes up about as much space as the oxygen, so the burned oxygen is replace with carbon dioxide and the pressure in the bottle stays the same.

But if the egg was pushed into the bottle by air pressure, what lowered the pressure in the bottle? The answer is temperature. While the paper was burning, it heated the air in the bottle. The heating air expanded and pushed out past the egg. If you put the egg on the bottle quickly and watch carefully, you may be able to see the egg shake as the air rushes out past it. As the flame begins to die down, the air inside the bottle cools. As it cools, it gets smaller, reducing the pressure in the bottle. The egg acts as a cork, sealing the top of the bottle to keep air from coming in to balance the pressure. Instead, the higher outside pressure pushes the egg into the bottle.

Now, how do we get the egg out of the bottle? One way is to turn the bottle upside down, with the egg resting in the neck of the bottle. Put your mouth against the mouth of the bottle and blow as hard as you can. This increases the pressure inside the bottle. Quickly move the bottle away from your mouth and the egg should pop out. Rinse off the carbon from the burned paper and your egg is now ready for snack time.

All lessons are brought to you by The Teacher's Corner and Robert Krampf's Science Education Company.

Robert Krampf's Science Shows thehappyscientist.com

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Popular Egg Science Experiments

What You Need for this Experiment:

• Use a paper towel to coat the inside edge of the bottle mouth with a little bit of vegetable oil for lubrication. 
• Dip the peeled egg in water  
• Set the egg with the small end down in the mouth of the glass bottle. It should be slightly larger than the mouth of the bottle/top of the bottle, so it doesn't fall inside. 
• Have an adult light a match to light the end of a strip of paper on fire. 
• Lift the egg off of the bottle, drop the paper inside with the flame down, and quickly replace the egg. Watch the egg wiggle a little in the bottle mouth, and then get sucked inside as the bottle cools! 

First, the science behind a hard-boiled egg: Egg whites are made of water and proteins. 

Proteins are made of long chains of amino acids, but in an egg, the chains are clumped tightly together in individual spheres.  (These are called "globular proteins.") 

When the egg is heated, the proteins and water molecules begin to move faster. As they move and collide with each other, the individual protein chains start to denature, eventually bonding loosely with other protein chains, forming a network of proteins with water trapped inside.  The consistency has changed from runny egg white to a soft solid! 

How does this squishy-but-solid egg get mysteriously pushed inside the bottle? 

The answer is all about the pressure of the air. When you first set the egg on the bottle, the air pressure inside the bottle matched the air pressure outside, so nothing happened. 

When you dropped the burning paper through the neck of the bottle, it caused the air inside to heat up and expand rapidly. That expanding air pushed the egg aside and escaped from the bottle; that's why you saw the egg vibrating. 

When the fire consumed all the oxygen inside the bottle, the flame went out and the remaining air in the bottle cooled down. Cool air takes up less space, exerting less pressure inside the bottle.   The egg acted as a seal to prevent outside air from getting in to fill the extra space.

The result was an unbalanced force—the force of the air pushing on the egg from outside the bottle was greater than the force of the air pushing up on it from inside the bottle. Voila - the egg was pushed into the bottle!

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The pressure inside the bottle must be higher than outside the bottle. To increase the pressure, turn the bottle upside down and tilt it until the small end of the egg is sitting in the mouth. 

Now put your mouth close to the bottle and blow, forcing more air into the bottle and raising the pressure inside. When you take your mouth away, the egg should pop out - just be careful it doesn't hit you in the face! 

Fizzy Easter Egg Dye

• Hard-boiled eggs 
• Food coloring 
• Sodium bicarbonate  (baking soda) 
• Vinegar 
• Bowls 
• Paintbrushes 
• Tongs 
• Newspaper or paper towels

Make a paste of baking soda and water and add a few drops of food coloring. Repeat in separate bowls with as many colors as you’d like.

Using a paintbrush, apply the baking soda mixture to a hard-boiled egg (if the mixture is too thick and goopy, add more water, several drops at a time until it has thinned to the right consistency to spread easily). Once your egg is decorated the way you want it, set it in an empty bowl.

Pour about ½ cup of vinegar directly over each egg and enjoy the colorful, fizzy reaction!

Once the fizz has died down, use tongs to carefully fish your egg out of the liquid and set it on newspapers or a stack of paper towels to dry.

A basic chemical reaction between the baking soda (which is a base) and the vinegar (an acid) is what caused all the fizzing and bubbling! The baking soda made a type of paint when you mixed it with water and food coloring. After the chemical reaction, the baking soda and vinegar were mostly used up, leaving the dye behind on the eggs. 

Eggshell Geode Science Project

• Raw eggs 
• Water 
• 250 ml beakers  
• Funnel  (optional) 
• Plastic cups  
• Epsom salt  (magnesium sulfate),  alum  (aluminum potassium sulfate) or other solids commonly used to grow crystals, like  Borax  (sodium tetraborate),  copper sulfate , etc.) 
• White school glue and paint brush (for alum crystal geodes only) 
• Crack the eggs close to the top of the narrow end. Remove yolk and white. 
• Carefully place eggshell under warm running water and peel the membrane from the shell. Be very gentle! This part is tricky and requires much delicacy to avoid breaking the fragile eggshells. 
• Once the membrane is removed and the eggshells are rinsed, invert them on a paper towel to dry. 
• For alum crystal geodes, paint the inside of the shell with white glue. Then sprinkle with alum powder and let dry. 
• To make supersaturated solution, use your microwave to heat 100 ml of water in a 250 ml beaker just until boiling. Remove the beaker using hot pads or heat-resistant leather gloves. 
• Stir in your solid (Epsom salt, alum, etc.), one spoonful at a time. Your solution should be clear. Heat it up more if all the solid won’t dissolve. 
• Add food coloring and let cool for about 10 minutes. 
• Carefully submerge the eggshell. Or set it in a clean empty cup and use the funnel to fill it with the supersaturated solution. 
• Leave the eggshell and supersaturated solution undisturbed for several days or longer. 
• After a few days, you should start to see crystals forming inside your eggshell. Use a spoon to remove it from the solution, or carefully pour the supersaturated solution out of the eggshell. 

A crystal is a hard, solid substance made of molecules that bond together in specific patterns to form a shape with straight edges and flat surfaces. If you made more than one type of crystal eggshell geode, you saw that not all crystals have the same shape or size. The site where a crystal begins to grow, called its nucleation site, determines its size: fewer nucleation sites mean larger crystals, and many nucleation sites produce smaller crystals. 

A few molecules of magnesium sulfate or aluminum potassium sulfate (or whatever solid you used) found each other in the solution and joined together in a crystal formation. More molecules joined until enough gathered to form a visible crystalline solid. Chemists refer to this as a crystal ‘falling out of’ the solution. If you left these crystals in the solution, they’d continue to grow. 

Learn about Fizz, Foam, and Fire! Perform several chemical reactions to identify evidence for chemical change, use clues to describe reactants and products, and determine whether reactions are endothermic or exothermic.

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Egg in a Bottle Experiment

The Egg in a Bottle experiment illustrates the effects of air pressure. Air pressure is manifested in different phenomena, so are its effects.

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When it comes to weather, air pressure plays a big role too. Most of the changes in a particular place's weather are governed by air pressure.

In this experiment, you will learn more about air pressure and its behaviour by putting an egg into a bottle and taking it out again without destroying the egg.

For the Egg in a Bottle experiment, you will need the following items:

• hard boiled egg
• bottle with an opening narrower than the size of the egg
• match sticks

Get an egg and hard boil it. Make sure that you cool it down before proceeding. Seek help from an adult or at least their supervision while you cook the egg. After setting it aside to cool down, start peeling off its shell.

Now, take the newspaper and tear one page into strips. It is recommended that you perform the following procedure with the supervision of an adult. Insert the strips of newspaper into the bottle, and take your match to light it. Drop the lit matchsticks into the bottle so it burns the newspaper strips inside. Quickly take the egg and place it in front of the opening of the bottle. Watch what happens!

And to take it out? Put your mouth on the bottle opening and blow air into the mouth of the bottle. Be aware that the egg will pop right out of the bottle again when you do this!

Amazing huh? You just managed to insert a hard-boiled egg into a bottle with a narrower opening and you were even able to take it back out without destroying it! How is this possible? Air pressure is the answer! The experiment just showed you the behaviour of air pressure.

In our Egg in a Bottle experiment, after setting the newspapers on fire with the use of the lit matchsticks, the oxygen in the bottle is used up. When you placed the egg in front of the opening, the air inside creates a vacuum sucking the egg into the bottle.

The burning newspapers heats the air trapped inside the bottle causing it to expand. After a short while, the fire inside the bottle dies, thus causing the air inside to cool down then resulting in a lower pressure inside the bottle. The egg is forced into the bottle because there is a lower pressure inside, and a greater pressure outside the bottle.

Now, after turning the bottle upside down and blowing air into the bottle, the air pressure inside the bottle increases then pushing the egg back out its opening while at the same time keeping it intact!

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Explorable.com (Aug 13, 2011). Egg in a Bottle Experiment. Retrieved Oct 22, 2024 from Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/egg-in-a-bottle-experiment

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Bottled Egg Trick

First get permission to use kitchen equipment and eggs. Then put the bottle in the bowl of hot water for about five minutes.

Move the bottle to the bowl of ice water. Wet the egg and place it pointed side down in the bottle opening. As the air inside the bottle cools, the egg will slowly move into the bottle.

To remove the egg, hold the bottle upside down so the egg is near the opening. Blow hard into the bottle with your mouth tight against the opening. Point the bottle away from you: The egg flies out!

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

Hot air expands. Cold air contracts. When the air inside the bottle is heated, the molecules, or tiny air particles, inside the bottle spread out, increasing air pressure. As the air in the bottle cools, the air pressure decreases. The greater outside air pressure pushes the egg into the bottle. Blowing into the bottle raises the air pressure again. The air and the egg rush out of the bottle.

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How to Do the Egg in a Bottle Experiment

“Wow! How did you do that??” As a parent or a teacher, those are some of the best words you can hear. Well, after I love you, of course. And there’s nothing like science to get the kids intrigued and wondering how something works. That’s why we HAD to do the classic Egg in a Bottle Experiment . An egg, some fire, and you’ve got a really cool bottle trick on your hands! And some fascinated kids ready to learn.

Egg in a Bottle Experiment Supplies Needed

• Hard-boiled egg, peeled (be sure to have a few because you’ll want to see this again!)
• 1-quart glass milk bottle or another glass bottle with a mouth smaller than the egg
• Matches or lighter

SAFETY FIRST!

This egg in a bottle trick is best done as a demonstration by adults. Children should never use matches or a lighter. Have the adult complete the part of this experiment that deals with lighting the matches and burning the paper. Always keep matches and lighters out of the reach of children. Also, keep a fire extinguisher nearby in case of emergency.

• Cut a strip of paper 6-8″ long and 3/4″ wide. The paper should be narrow enough to easily fit in the bottle and long enough that it ends below the top of the bottle when placed fully inside.
• Get your eggs ready, peeled, and nearby.
• Light the piece of paper and drop it into the bottle.

• Quickly place the hard-boiled egg on top of the mouth of the bottle.

• Watch it pop inside the bottle!

Let’s watch the experiment in action in this video…

How Did the Egg Get Sucked Into the Bottle?

This is a classic science experiment that demonstrates the power of pressure. It looks like the egg is getting sucked into the bottle. But, as my 9th-grade science teacher Mrs. Grimm drilled into our heads,  there’s actually no such thing as suction. It’s just high pressure winning over low pressure. And air pressure follows something called the Ideal Gas Law.

Pressure * Volume = number of moles * R (gas  constant) * Temperature

This is a cool way of remembering that when the temperature goes up, the pressure goes up, too in a fixed environment like a milk bottle. And vice versa.

So what’s happening in the experiment? When you start, the air pressure inside the bottle and the air pressure outside the bottle are equal, and the egg can’t move. But, as the paper burns inside the bottle, the temperature goes up, causing the pressure to go up. After you place the egg on the bottle top, it seals up the bottle a bit, but still allows the high pressure to force the air out of the bottle. This is why you may get to see the egg do a little jiggle on top. But, when all the air is forced out of the bottle, the burning paper runs out of oxygen and can’t burn anymore. So the flame goes out. And as you can guess, when the flame goes out, the bottle cooled and the air temperature goes down. And, so does the pressure. Suddenly, the pressure on the outside of the bottle is higher than the pressure on the inside of the bottle. And POP! In goes the egg. Because high pressure won over low pressure and air pushed the egg into the bottle.

How to Remove the Egg from the Bottle

Here’s your challenge after the experiment. How do you get the egg out of the bottle? It’s a great time for experimenting! You just have to figure out how to make high pressure win over low pressure again. Basically, get the pressure in the bottle high enough that it can push the egg out. Good luck. I tried blowing in there with a straw-like I heard would work. No joy. But I’m guessing that’s why there are no pictures of getting eggs out of the bottle on the web… So first experiment, then grab a fork, break it up, and pop the bottle in the dishwasher instead…

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Five great egg experiments

March 19, 2012 By Emma Vanstone 8 Comments

Here at Science Sparks, we love experiments using eggs. Eggs are generally inexpensive and can usually be eaten before or after the activity, so there’s no waste.

These are my five favourite Egg Experiments.

Five Eggy Experiments

Make an eggshell disappear ! This is like magic! Watch the shell of an egg disappear before your eyes. Just be careful not to break the membrane.

Learn about osmosis by making an egg shrink ! You’ll need to remove the shell to expose the delicate membrane.

Find out how srong an eggshell is by making an eggshell bridge ! The dome shape is surprisingly strong.

Learn about air pressure with a boiled egg . The change in pressure between the outside and inside of the jar pulls the egg into the jar.

Which is your favourite Egg Experiment?

Last Updated on March 17, 2023 by Emma Vanstone

Safety Notice

Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

Reader Interactions

March 21, 2012 at 5:32 pm

I great selection of experiments! Perfectly timed for Easter activities and fun!

Thanks for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!

June 12, 2012 at 2:58 pm

Hi Emma and Kerry!

We loved this post full of fun hands-on learning and featured it at our blog, Kindergarten Lesson Plans!

You can find the full feature here: http://kindergartenlessonplans.org/2058/science-experiment-eggy-investigations/

We were sure to give idea/photo credit, as well as a link back to your site, but we’d love for you to take a look at it!

Have a wonderful day, Kayla

June 12, 2012 at 3:29 pm

Thanks so much, we love it when people find us useful! x

March 29, 2013 at 1:21 pm

Just doing some now will leave a link later! Even I was shocked one worked!

April 01, 2013 at 7:00 pm

Yay, can’t wait to hear about them.

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Eggstraordinary Eggsperiments

Activity length, 12 activities, forces and motion, activity type.

There are many easy and fun experiments that can be done with eggs, encompassing a number of different scientific principles.

• air pressure
• acid/base reactions
• architectural structures

In this resource, students will demonstrate several scientific principles by exploring characteristics of an egg's material and shape that make it so versatile.

LIST OF ACTIVITIES

Egg Toss (forces) Unsqueezable Egg (structures) Eggstra Strong Eggs (structures) Naked Eggs: Acid-Base Reaction (chemistry) Naked Eggs: Osmosis (chemistry) Egg Volume Relay (math-volume/displacement) Eggcellent Density (density) Egg Spinning (forces, inertia) Egg Drop (forces) Eggstacle Course (forces) Egg-Shaped Stress Ball (forces) Egg and Broom Trick (forces, inertia) Egg in a Bottle (air pressure)

Relate the strength of an egg to its structure.

Use problem-solving skills in building solid structures.

Describe the effects of an acid-base reaction.

see individual activities for materials.

Generally speaking, two of the main factors that contribute to the strength of a structure are its material and shape. This also applies to the material and shape of an egg.

Calcium carbonate, or CaCO3, provides hardness and strength to things such as seashells, rocks, pearls, coral reefs, and eggshells. Since calcium carbonate is a base, it is no longer used for building purposes on its own (in limestone form) because it dissolves in acid rain.

A good quality eggshell will contain, on average, 2.2 grams of calcium in the form of calcium carbonate. Approximately 94% of a dry eggshell is calcium carbonate. The remainder is composed largely of phosphorus and magnesium, with trace amounts of sodium, potassium, zinc, manganese, iron, and copper. Immersing an egg in an acidic solution, such as vinegar, will disintegrate its shell through a common acid-base reaction.

An eggshell is a natural example of an arch. Arches, even those made of eggshells, are strong because they exert horizontal as well as vertical forces to resist the pressure of heavy loads. The crown of an eggshell can support a heavy load because the weight is distributed evenly along the structure of the egg.

Although the egg is strong in compression, it is weak in tension. Chicks are not strong, but by poking with their beaks from inside the egg, they are able to break out of their shells. They break the shell using tension. To make a structure strong with a tension weak material, such as an eggshell, forces must create compression and avoid tension. Fortunately, the arch/dome shape of the eggshell fulfills these requirements.

acid – A substance that reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as being sour-tasting. Archimedes’ principle – A scientific law, put forth by ancient Greek Archimedes, that  the weight of any floating object displaces the same weight of the fluid that it is in. base – A substance that can be thought of as the chemical opposite of an acid. Bases usually taste bitter and feel soapy. compression – A force applied to the outside of an object that pushes inward, or towards the centre of the object. concentration – In a mixture, the concentration of one substance is the mass of that substance divided by the total volume of the mixture. density – Mass per unit volume. Density can be described as how heavy something is for its size. diffusion – The spread of randomly-moving particles from regions of higher concentration to regions of lower concentration. displacement – Occurs when an object immersed in a fluid pushes the fluid out of the way. dome – A structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere, and can be thought of as a 3D arch. friction – The force resisting the relative motion of objects or fluids sliding against each other. inertia – The resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion or rest. mass – Technically, the amount of matter in an object. Colloquially, “how heavy it is”. membrane – A layer of material which serves as a selective barrier between two sides of an object. osmosis  – A process in which water moves through a membrane from a high concentration of water molecules to a low concentration of water molecules. permeable  – Describes a membrane that will allow all molecules small enough to pass through it by diffusion. semi-permeable  – Describes a membrane that will allow only certain molecules or ions to pass through it by diffusion. tension –  A pulling or stretching force. volume  – How much 3D space a substance (solid, liquid, gas, plasma) or shape occupies.

Other Resources

Science World | YouTube| Inertia

Science World | YouTube | The Air Show

EDinformatics | Science of Cooking | The Anatomy of a Chicken Egg

Rocketboom | Make Magazine Egg Drop

BBC Earth Lab | How To Get an Egg in a Milkbottle

YouTube | Steve Spangler Science | Sick Science! | Egg In The Bottle – Upside Down Twist

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