Eggs contain something called "calcium carbonate". This is what makes them hard. Vinegar is an acid known as acetic acid. When calcium carbonate (the egg) and acetic acid (the vinegar) combine, a chemical reaction takes place and carbon dioxide (a gas) is released. This is what the bubbles are made of. The chemical reaction keeps happening until all of the carbon in the egg is used up -- it takes about a day. When you take the egg out of the vinegar it's soft because all of the carbon floated out of the egg in those little bubbles. Since the egg shell is made out of "calcium carbonate" and is “eaten” up by the acidic vinegar. Then leaving behind only the inner membrane and giving the egg a rubbery feeling. The egg shell is almost completely see-through and squishy. Immediately after we place the raw egg in the vinegar, bubbles start to form around it. After 24 hours the shell will be gone and portions of it will be floating on the surface. The egg remains intact because of the thin see-through membrane that is normally between the shell and the egg white. Also, the size of the egg has slightly increased.
Vinegar is made of acetic acid and eggshells are made of calcium carbonate. Acetic acid reacts with the calcium carbonate and dissolves the shell. Next, the water from the vinegar moves through the membrane into the egg because the membrane is semi-permeable. What this means is that some small particles can pass through the microscopic holes in the membrane, but other larger molecules cannot. Water molecules are small enough to move through the membrane and balance the water levels on each side.
The shell of the egg is made up of calcium carbonate. The acidic vinegar eats the outer shell and inner membrane is left, giving you the feeling of rubber. The outer shell is dissolved in the vinegar.
Actually to understand this, it is important to know what substances are involved in the reaction. Vinegar contains about 3% acetic acid and the substance that gives strength to an eggshell and is calcium carbonate. If you remember from your chemistry class, acids react with calcium carbonate to give off carbon dioxide and a calcium compound. So, the reaction between vinegar and eggshell is:
CaCO3 (s) + 2H+ (aq) ----> Ca2+ (aq)+H2O (l) + CO2 (g)
When you put the eggshell into vinegar, you will see bubbles form. This are actually carbon dioxide given off. The calcium from calcium carbonate converts into calcium acetate which is somewhat soluble. Eventually most of the calcium carbonate is converted into carbon dioxide and acetate. As this calcium carbonate is extracted from the eggshell, all that is left behind is a skeleton of the other substances present in the eggshell matrix. This feels like rubber.
This is done by when an egg is 95% of calcium carbonate and vinegar is a dilute acetic acid; the shell is reacting to the acid and leaves salt, water , and carbon dioxide. The formula for that whole interaction is “2 CH3COOH + CaCO3 --> (CH3COO)2Ca + CO2 +H2O.”
Eggs contain something called "calcium carbonate". This is what makes them hard. Vinegar is an acid known as acetic acid. When the egg and the vinegar combine, a chemical reaction takes place and a gas called carbon dioxide is released. This is what the bubbles are made of. The chemical reaction keeps happening until all of the carbon dioxide in the egg is used up. The egg shell has many tiny microscopic holes in it, allowing the vinegar to pass through the eggshell, this is called osmosis. When you take the egg out of the vinegar it's soft because all of the carbon dioxide when it floats out of the egg in little bubbles. If you shake the egg, you can see the yolk sloshing around in the egg. Its shell will become a material that feels like a rubber ball. After a period of about 4 weeks the egg will become bouncy.
You guys are all wrong. The eggs shell is made of calcium when the egg is put in to vinegar the acids eat away at it. It becomes rubbery and shows the inner membrane.
It doesn't turn into rubber it's eggshell is just dissolved by the vinegar.the vinegar has acetic acid and a egg is made up of calcium carbonate.the vinegar is just attacking the eggshell and eating it leaving the eggshell's membrance.
No, No, No, No, No, No, No! These answers are all incorrect! What happens to an eggshell when placed in vinegar is a process called Osmosis. Osmosis is when water diffuses through a cell membrane, and to an egg, the shell is it's cell membrane! When you pick the egg up, it may feel rubbery, but by all means, DO NOT BOUNCE THE EGG! The shell is still very very fragile! It may become see-through depending on the vinegar you use. Please, from a person who has done the experiment, listen to this information. It will lead you in the correct direction. And If you drop that egg, boy it will smell so badly. Trust me.
It will soften and eventually totally remove the hard outer shell. When the shell is completely dissolved, you will be able to view the the insides of the egg through the remaining clear membrane. A trick that we used to pull was to soak the egg until pliable and then roll it into a cigar shape, making it thin enough to slide into a soda bottle. After putting it into the bottle rinse the in cool water and the egg will return to its normal shape. Dump the water and in a couple of days the shell will reharden and you have egg in a bottle. If you are not seeing the egg soften it might be because the vinegar is old and has lost its potency.
While the egg may look like rubber, it is not actually rubber nor does it turn to rubber. Vinegar is harsh and will eventually penetrate the shell, eventually dissolving it.
I did this experiment in school, it is because when the egg is in vinegar for period of time, the vinegar eats away at the calcium in the shell and eventually the shell disappears. When this happens the egg is only surrounded by the membrane in which at this time it is very delicate.
The calcium carbonate in the egg dissolves into the vinegar. I did this trick as a science demo for elementary school kids when I introduced a unit on rocks. Calcium carbonate (calcite) is also found in limestone.
It doesn't turn to rubber. Fresh vinegar will dissolve the calcium from the the eggshell.
As a side note, you can peel the shells from hard-boiled eggs and put them into left-over pickle-juice (vinegar) to preserve them (pickled egg!) and the juice will tint them slightly. If you eat ham, you can later be amused by your own meal of "Green Eggs & Ham".
It takes a week or so for it to acquire the color. If good sanitary methods are used, it lasts at least a year. It's "pickled". It's just a little tart. I dislike eggs pickled in beet juice.
Was the egg kept in the refrigerator or left out at room temperature? Egg shells dissolve in vinegar due to the acidic value of vinegar and the shell being of a calcium material. If kept in the refrigerator, you then would be able to see the egg membrane almost like a see through type egg. This takes about 24 hours though. 2 weeks, I am guessing that if left in the fridge, the vinegar will penetrate the membrane as well and solidify the egg.
If you mean soaking a raw egg (still in its shell) then I don't know, but if you soak a shelled, hard boiled egg in vinegar for long enough, you get pickled eggs which I think are delicious, especially with a bag of crisps (chips , if you are in the US).
The egg will become rubbery. After 3 days the shell will start to come off and you will be able to see orange. This is a slow process. This is my 4th day and only a small amount has come off. WARNING: THE EGG YOU PUT IN VINEGAR WILL START TO SMELL. IF YOU ARE IN WINTER, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO PUT IT OUTSIDE TO FREEZE AND THROW AWAY AFTER IT IS FROZEN.
Makes it kind of rubbery/bendy if you soak a whole egg in vinegar you can push it into a milk bottle, but I can't remember how long you soak it for, I think about 10 days.
