 your results
Sent in by:
Katie of Preston, WA and Jim of AZ
Some science that's sure to float your boat.
- water
- 2 eggs
- liquid soap
- cooking oil
- salt
- sugar
- glass
- tablespoon
- balance scale
- Check with an adult before you begin.
- Fill a glass half full with water. Place an egg into the water. The egg will sink because it is more dense than the water.
- Start adding salt to the water one tablespoon at a time. Help the salt dissolve by stirring it into the water. What happens? How much salt do you have to add to get your egg to float?
Ready for us to float the science scoop? Adding salt to the water squishes more molecules into the water. This makes the water more dense. When there was no salt in the water, the egg was more dense than the water and it sank. Adding salt to the water makes the water more dense than the egg which makes the egg float. If you weigh a cup of saltwater and a cup of fresh water, the saltwater will weigh more than the fresh water even though it is taking up the same amount of space (a cup). This is because the saltwater is more dense than the fresh water.
Design your own experiment by thinking of a question you'd like answered. Would sugar dissolved in water make an egg float? How about soap or oil? Make a prediction, test it out and send your results to ZOOM.
Meccayla, age 11 of Phoenix, AZ wrote:
The egg was in the middle with the sugar and with the salt it went to the top of the cup.
Hannah, age 8 of King, NC wrote:
When I did this it took it least 5 tablesppons to float the egg, I tested five eggs! 3 ot of 5 took five tble. spoons.
Shakira, age 12 of Baltimore, MD wrote:
we had put a egg in the reagular water with out salt water. it did not float at all so we had put another egg in the salt water and the egg had float. the only reason that the egg had floated in the salt water not in the reagular because the salt water had more boncey then the reagular water. thats why it had floated in the salt water not the reagular water.
Angerica, age 10 of The Philippines wrote:
When the egg is put on the tap water it sank but when I put the egg in the water with salt it floats. I think this is not true but when I try it I can't believe it.
Jessie, age 10 of New York, NY wrote:
at first the egg did not float and I added a couple tsp. of salt and stured and I could not belive it. it had actually worked.
Lali, age 10 of West Linn, OR wrote:
Well, I got a measuring cup, poured a lot of salt into the cup and it sank! then I added 2/3. 1/3+2/3=1/1.
Max, age 10 of Playa Del Rey, CA wrote:
I used 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of salt and the egg floated to the top. It was the shortest experiment I ever did.
Myana, age 10 wrote:
I said wow because didn't know that the egg will float.
Ayla, age 7 of Chicago, IL wrote:
We tried epsom salts water, and salt water, and other liquids, like milk and Dr. Pepper. The egg floated in the epsom salts water too. It was cool to see the egg float or sink in different liquids. We put oil in the glass with salt water, and the egg floated where the oil and salt water met.
Sarah, age 11 of HI wrote:
The egg does float! I had to add a lot more salt... and I used different directions than you... but... It floats!
Gabe, age 13 of MB wrote:
it floated and it was amazing.
Stephanie of Bell Gardens, CA wrote:
It worked! it was totally awsome!!!
Betty, age 13 of Minneapolis, MN wrote:
It was unbelievable but it actually floated. That was the coolest, easiest, and fastest experiment that I've ever did.
ZOOM Fan, age 10 wrote:
it didn't work. I put 10 teaspoon of salt in a 12 inch cup.
Janice, age 9 of Miami, FL wrote:
it did not float becuase I did not stir it.
Rafael, age 9 of Haines City, FL wrote:
my egg didnt float why? I put salt.
Zachary, age 11 of Pineville, KY wrote:
I was using the wrong tool and I forgot to stir but when I did it, it was cool. i'm using it for science fair.
Hunter, age 8 of Elliot Lake wrote:
after I put 5 teaspoons of salt and a 5 inch cup full of water the egg started to float.
Jay, age 10 of OR wrote:
My egg started to float at 3 table Spoons. it was compleatly floating at 10 table spoons.
Diana, age 12 of Fayetteville, NC wrote:
It was awesome!!! The egg actually float!!!
Danica, age 12 of Tacloban wrote:
the egg actually floats!
Decon, age 9 of NM wrote:
At first I didnt know what I was doing. So when I first added the 2 teaspoons of water, I thought that it should have started to float right then, but it didnt. Then after I did it the 3rd time I noticed that I should have to add more salt to the water. I let it sit then when I came back to see what it was doing, I saw that adding more salt to the water made the egg float.
Caitlin, age 11 of Burton, MI wrote:
it was so cool to wach the egg float to the top of the glass.
Rhianna, age 11 wrote:
when I put 5 tbsps the egg floated in the water.
Larissa, age 10 of Brooklyn, NY wrote:
When I did the experiment, it took 4 teaspoons in a cup of water to float, but it actually floated! I was amazed that it only took a little bit of salt to make the water denser than an egg. The egg must have not been that dense. Before this, I didn't know that freshwater wasn't that dense.
Jordon, age 10 of Noblesville, IN wrote:
At first I thought that it wouldn't work but after 6 teaspoons of salt and perfectly 1 cup of water it really floated. it looked like the egg was comeing up for a breath!!!
Tiffany, age 10 of Palo Alto, CA wrote:
The egg only floated when you add salt. when you add sugar, liquid soap, or cooking oil it didn't work. It was really cool and awesome though!!!
Andrea, age 11 of Kenner, LA wrote:
it really worked. it was so cool and easy my mom acctually let me do it in the first place.
Chanise, age 10 of Milwaukee, WI wrote:
i used a hard boiled egg and it worked!
Alicia, age 9 of Catskill, NY wrote:
it was cool and the egg relly did float
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