Floating Egg Experiment

I first heard/saw this experiment a few weeks ago on our Wednesday Linky.  Carla at Preschool Powol Packets shared it here and I knew my girls would love this so we had to try it.  If you have not checked out Carla's site, then you need to head over there now.  She has so many fun and educational crafts, experiments, printables, and projects that you can't help but get inspired, so go check her out!

As I knew they would, my girls LOVED this experiment.  And since we have a trip to Florida coming up (okay it is not for a couple months but I am so excited!) I thought it would be a fun experiment to show the the difference between salt water and fresh water.  If you have never lived near or been in the ocean you may not know that you float more in the salt water.  I know this from diving class, this would actually be a great experiment to show new divers how you need more weight on your weight belt in the salt water vs fresh.

Okay back to the experiment both girls thought it was really cool that the floating egg would bounce back up when pushed under, they had to do this to it about fifty times. We added about 2 tbs of salt to our second glass and I think we probably did not need so much, but you can play with the amounts when you do it since  it will really depend on how big your glass is and how much water you have.

What is happening with this experiment? This is a salt water vs fresh water experiment.  You will see that when you add salt to the water it makes the water denser which allows the egg to float.  If you live near salt water this is a cool experiment to do so the kids can see how they might float better in the ocean vs the pool.  For more fun science experiments for kids check out our science page!

Supplies
2 Clear Glasses
2 Eggs
2 TBS Salt (may need more or less depending on your glass)
Water

Directions

 Fill both glasses with water then drop one egg in one glass

 Watch the egg sink to the bottom of the glass

 Pour two table spoons salt in second glass

 Drop second egg in to second glass

Watch the second egg float to the top of the glass

 Try pushing the egg down and then watch it bounce back up

 Feel free to try it again

 And again, the girls just thought it was so cool that it kept floating back up