Think an egg shell is fragile? Take a look at this food science explanation for kids and THEN tell us what you think! We at Kids Activities Blog think this egg experiment is eggs-cellently fun!
Egg Shell Squeeze
Knowing how easy an egg cracks, it makes sense to think they are fragile. But they are extremely strong – so strong that you can squeeze an egg in these simple experiments and never break it’s shell.
First, place an egg in the palm of your hand. Close your hand so that your fingers are completely wrapped around the egg. Squeeze the egg by applying even pressure all around the shell. I was nervous to try this and stood over my kitchen sink. You can too. Did the shell break?
No. Amazing, right?
Food Science
Try another way – Hold the egg between your thumb and forefinger and squeeze the top and bottom of the egg. Did it break when you squeezed it this way?
Egg Experiment
Finally, hold the egg in the palm of your hand. Press only on one side of the shell. Do not squeeze the egg – just press on the side.
What happens? Why do you think this happens?
Egg Shell Strength
The Strong Shell: The egg’s unique shape gives it tremendous strength, despite its fragility. Think of an egg as a 3-demensional arch. The egg is strongest at the top and the bottom. That’s why the egg doesn’t break when you add pressure to both ends.
When you hold the egg in your hand and squeeze, you are distributing pressure all over the egg. The curved shell can distribute this pressure rather than concentrating it all on one area. When an egg is cracked on the side of a bowl, it breaks as the pressure is concentrated on one side.
This also explains how a hen can sit on an egg and not break it, but a tiny little chick can break through the eggshell – the weight of the hen is evenly distributed over the egg, while the pecking of the chick is an uneven force directed at just one spot on the egg.
More Kids Activities
This egg shell squeeze experiment is amazing. We have more food science ideas for your child to explore. For more kids activities like these, please take a look at some of these ideas:
This is a great explanation! I think I’ll do this experiment next time we cook 🙂
Wow! This could be one particular of the most beneficial blogs We’ve ever arrive across on this subject. Actually Great. I am also a specialist in this topic therefore I can understand your effort.