Eggs floating in salt water - Science Experiment for School Kids

Floating eggs in salt water

• Eggs floating in salt water is a science experiment that explores the concept of buoyancy.

• By conducting this experiment, students can observe the difference in the behavior of eggs in fresh water compared to salt water.

"For any object to float, the weight of the object should be lesser than or equal to the buoyant force."

Materials needed for the experiment

• Eggs

• Water

• Salt

• Tall measuring glass

"For this experiment, you'll need some eggs, water, salt, and a tall measuring glass."

Sinking an egg in water

• Fill the measuring glass about half full with water.

• Gently place an egg into the glass of water.

• Observe that the egg sinks and settles at the bottom of the glass.

"You should observe that the egg sinks and dives to the bottom of the glass."

Floating an egg in salt water

• Fill the measuring glass with new water.

• Add a significant amount of salt to the water to create salt water.

• Gently lower another egg into the salt water and witness what happens.

• The egg floats and does not sink even when pushed down.

"Now take another egg and gently lower the egg into the salt water and watch what happens. The egg floats."

Understanding why eggs float in salt water

• An egg floats in salt water because salt water is denser than fresh water.

• The buoyant force, which opposes the weight of an immersed object, becomes greater in salt water due to its higher density.

• This greater buoyancy prevents the egg from sinking.

"An egg floats in salt water as salt is denser compared to fresh water. The weight of the water displaced is equal to density of the water times volume times the force of gravity. Since the density of salt water is more than that of fresh water, the weight of the water displaced will be greater in the case of salt water resulting in a greater buoyant force."

The relationship between salt concentration and buoyancy

• Adding more salt to the water increases the density of the water, leading to a greater buoyant force.

• In this experiment, the density of the salt water is greater than the density of the egg, causing the egg to float.

"In fact, the more salt there is in the water, the greater the buoyant force becomes. In this case, the density of the salt water is greater than the density of the egg."