When we think of eggs, we usually think of birds, which lay their eggs in the spring. However, it’s not just birds that lay eggs. Turtles, insects, frogs, fish and snakes all started life as an egg!
These animals eggs come in all shapes and sizes, colors, patterns and textures. But you are probably most familiar with chicken eggs from that carton in your fridge. This is the egg we will use for our experiment.
Materials
Egg
Plate
Water bottle
Have you ever needed to separate an egg white from the yolk? Let’s use science to do the work for us! All you need is an egg, a plate and a plastic bottle pulled from the recycling bin.
Crack open the egg on the plate. Position the mouth of the plastic bottle over the yolk. Squeeze the body of the bottle. When you release, the yolk should shoot up into the bottle, leaving the white of the egg behind.
How does it work? It’s all about air pressure. Even though the bottle looks empty, it is full of air. When you squeeze the bottle, you push out some of that air. Putting the mouth of the bottle over the egg yolk creates a seal — no air can get in or out. Because there is less air inside the bottle and more space, it means there is lower air pressure. The higher air pressure on the outside pushes the yolk inside the bottle!
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