Density Demonstration

What You Need:

• 2 eggs
• 2 clear glasses
• Measuring spoon
• Table salt
• Water

What You Do:

1. Fill two glasses with water. 
2. In one of the glasses put in a teaspoon of salt.
3. Put an egg in each of the glasses and see what happens.
4. Have your child record the behavior of the eggs in the two glasses.
5. Experiment with adding more salt to the salted glass.

What's Going On Here?

Density measures mass relative to the volume of a substance, which in this case is water. The water that we drink is less dense than an egg, so the egg sinks. But saltwater is more dense than regular water! If you add enough salt, the saltwater will be more dense than the egg, causing the egg to float instead of sink.