Peeling a Raw Egg You Will Need: a raw egg a glass vinegar Directions: Place the egg in the glass, ensuring there is plenty of room around it. Fill the glass with vinegar to above the top of the egg. Leave the experiment in a safe place for a week. Every couple of days, carefully pour off the liquid from the glass, and replace it with fresh vinegar. When the reaction is complete, you will be left with a raw egg, held together only by a thin membrane! What happened? Vinegar contains a weak acid, acetic acid, which reacts with the calcium carbonate in the egg's shell. Over time, the acid "eats" the shell away, producing small bubbles of carbon dioxide gas, which can be seen around the egg. When the bubbles stop appearing, the reaction has finished.

Bibliography Parker, S. Simple Chemistry (London: Kingfisher, 1990).