experiment with egg and bottle

Cool Science Experiments Headquarters

Making Science Fun, Easy to Teach and Exciting to Learn!

Science Experiments

Egg in a Bottle Science Experiment

Can eggs move by themselves? Maybe not, but with the help of air pressure, they can be pushed into a glass bottle without being touched!

In this experiment, your young scientists will learn about density and air pressure. And when you watch our demonstration video, you’ll see that although things didn’t go exactly as we expected, this experiment is always fun and educational. Printable instructions and a materials list are included.

JUMP TO SECTION: Instructions | Video Tutorial | How it Works

Supplies Needed

• Hard-Boiled Egg (shell removed)
• Glass Bottle
• Thick Piece of Paper
• Match or Lighter

Safety Note: Because the experiment involves fire, adult supervision is required.

Egg in a Bottle Science Lab Kit – Only $5

Use our easy Egg in a Bottle Science Lab Kit to grab your students’ attention without the stress of planning!

It’s everything you need to  make science easy for teachers and fun for students  — using inexpensive materials you probably already have in your storage closet!

Egg in a Bottle Science Experiment Instructions

Step 1 – Remove the shell from the hard-boiled egg and place it on the mouth of the jar. Take a moment to make some observations. Why doesn’t the egg fit into the jar? Do you think it is possible to put the egg inside the jar? Do you think it is possible for the egg to move into the jar without touching it?

Step 2 –  Remove the egg from the jar and set it on the table nearby. Make sure that you place it within reach because you’ll need to move quickly once it’s time to place the egg on the bottle again. 

Step 2 – Get your strip of thick paper ready. Note that using thick paper is important because you need something that won’t burn too quickly when you light it on fire. We tore off a piece from an index card. Construction paper would also work nicely.

Carefully use a lighter to light the piece of paper on fire. Safety Note: Remember to always use safety measures when dealing with fire. Adult supervision is required.

Step 4 – Once the paper is burning, carefully but quickly drop it into the glass bottle.

Step 5 – Immediately after you put the paper in the bottle, place the egg on the top of the bottle.

Step 6 – Watch as the egg begins to slowly move into the bottle. If you are lucky the egg will stay in one piece as it moves into the bottle. Or if you are like us, the egg will eventually split as it is squeezed into the mouth of the bottle. Watch the Egg in a Bottle Experiment Video Tutorial to see what happens to our egg.

Were you surprised when the egg began to move into the jar? Do you know why it did? Read the how does this experiment work section before to find the answer. 

Egg in a Bottle Science Experiment Video Tutorial

How Does the Experiment Work?

Air has mass, so it has other properties like pressure and density. Air is able to push or crush objects when given the opportunity. We don’t often see air pushing or crushing objects because air molecules surrounding objects push on objects equally in all directions. In this experiment, you get to see the power of air!

Air pressure is the reason the egg moves into the bottle without us touching the egg. Let’s go over exactly what happened.

When we started the experiment, the air pressure inside the bottle was the same as the air pressure outside of the bottle because the air inside the bottle and outside the bottle was the same temperature.

After we placed the burning paper in the bottle, the air inside the bottle began to heat up and expand. A few seconds after we placed the egg on top of the bottle, the fire went out and the paper stopped burning. This caused the air inside the bottle to cool down and contract.

When the air contracts, the air pressure inside the bottle becomes less than the air pressure outside the bottle. This gives the higher air pressure outside of the bottle the opportunity to push the egg down into the bottle.

I hope you enjoyed the experiment. Here are some printable instructions:

• Hard Boiled Egg (Shell Removed)

Instructions

• Position the egg near the empty bottle. This is needed because you have to move fast once it is time to place the egg on the bottle.
• Take a strip of thick paper. Think paper is important, because you need something that won’t burn too quickly when you light it on fire during the next step. Helpful Tip: I used a piece of index card. Construction paper would also work nicely.
• Light the piece of paper and drop it into the bottle. Remember to always use safety measures when dealing with fire.
• Once the paper is burning, carefully but quickly drop it into the glass bottle.
• Immediately after you put the paper in the bottle, place the egg on the top of the bottle.
• Watch as the egg begins to slowly move into the bottle. Helpful Tip: If you are lucky the egg will stay in one piece as it moves into the bottle. Or if you are like us, the egg will eventually split as it is squeezed into the mouth of the bottle. Watch the Egg in a Bottle Experiment Video to see what happens to our egg.

Reader Interactions

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Privacy Policy
• Disclosure Policy

Copyright © 2024 · Cool Science Experiments HQ

Skip to Main Content

Popular Egg Science Experiments

What You Need for this Experiment:

• Use a paper towel to coat the inside edge of the bottle mouth with a little bit of vegetable oil for lubrication. 
• Dip the peeled egg in water  
• Set the egg with the small end down in the mouth of the glass bottle. It should be slightly larger than the mouth of the bottle/top of the bottle, so it doesn't fall inside. 
• Have an adult light a match to light the end of a strip of paper on fire. 
• Lift the egg off of the bottle, drop the paper inside with the flame down, and quickly replace the egg. Watch the egg wiggle a little in the bottle mouth, and then get sucked inside as the bottle cools! 

First, the science behind a hard-boiled egg: Egg whites are made of water and proteins. 

Proteins are made of long chains of amino acids, but in an egg, the chains are clumped tightly together in individual spheres.  (These are called "globular proteins.") 

When the egg is heated, the proteins and water molecules begin to move faster. As they move and collide with each other, the individual protein chains start to denature, eventually bonding loosely with other protein chains, forming a network of proteins with water trapped inside.  The consistency has changed from runny egg white to a soft solid! 

How does this squishy-but-solid egg get mysteriously pushed inside the bottle? 

The answer is all about the pressure of the air. When you first set the egg on the bottle, the air pressure inside the bottle matched the air pressure outside, so nothing happened. 

When you dropped the burning paper through the neck of the bottle, it caused the air inside to heat up and expand rapidly. That expanding air pushed the egg aside and escaped from the bottle; that's why you saw the egg vibrating. 

When the fire consumed all the oxygen inside the bottle, the flame went out and the remaining air in the bottle cooled down. Cool air takes up less space, exerting less pressure inside the bottle.   The egg acted as a seal to prevent outside air from getting in to fill the extra space.

The result was an unbalanced force—the force of the air pushing on the egg from outside the bottle was greater than the force of the air pushing up on it from inside the bottle. Voila - the egg was pushed into the bottle!

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Home Science Tools (@homesciencetools)

The pressure inside the bottle must be higher than outside the bottle. To increase the pressure, turn the bottle upside down and tilt it until the small end of the egg is sitting in the mouth. 

Now put your mouth close to the bottle and blow, forcing more air into the bottle and raising the pressure inside. When you take your mouth away, the egg should pop out - just be careful it doesn't hit you in the face! 

Fizzy Easter Egg Dye

• Hard-boiled eggs 
• Food coloring 
• Sodium bicarbonate  (baking soda) 
• Vinegar 
• Bowls 
• Paintbrushes 
• Tongs 
• Newspaper or paper towels

Make a paste of baking soda and water and add a few drops of food coloring. Repeat in separate bowls with as many colors as you’d like.

Using a paintbrush, apply the baking soda mixture to a hard-boiled egg (if the mixture is too thick and goopy, add more water, several drops at a time until it has thinned to the right consistency to spread easily). Once your egg is decorated the way you want it, set it in an empty bowl.

Pour about ½ cup of vinegar directly over each egg and enjoy the colorful, fizzy reaction!

Once the fizz has died down, use tongs to carefully fish your egg out of the liquid and set it on newspapers or a stack of paper towels to dry.

A basic chemical reaction between the baking soda (which is a base) and the vinegar (an acid) is what caused all the fizzing and bubbling! The baking soda made a type of paint when you mixed it with water and food coloring. After the chemical reaction, the baking soda and vinegar were mostly used up, leaving the dye behind on the eggs. 

Eggshell Geode Science Project

• Raw eggs 
• Water 
• 250 ml beakers  
• Funnel  (optional) 
• Plastic cups  
• Epsom salt  (magnesium sulfate),  alum  (aluminum potassium sulfate) or other solids commonly used to grow crystals, like  Borax  (sodium tetraborate),  copper sulfate , etc.) 
• White school glue and paint brush (for alum crystal geodes only) 
• Crack the eggs close to the top of the narrow end. Remove yolk and white. 
• Carefully place eggshell under warm running water and peel the membrane from the shell. Be very gentle! This part is tricky and requires much delicacy to avoid breaking the fragile eggshells. 
• Once the membrane is removed and the eggshells are rinsed, invert them on a paper towel to dry. 
• For alum crystal geodes, paint the inside of the shell with white glue. Then sprinkle with alum powder and let dry. 
• To make supersaturated solution, use your microwave to heat 100 ml of water in a 250 ml beaker just until boiling. Remove the beaker using hot pads or heat-resistant leather gloves. 
• Stir in your solid (Epsom salt, alum, etc.), one spoonful at a time. Your solution should be clear. Heat it up more if all the solid won’t dissolve. 
• Add food coloring and let cool for about 10 minutes. 
• Carefully submerge the eggshell. Or set it in a clean empty cup and use the funnel to fill it with the supersaturated solution. 
• Leave the eggshell and supersaturated solution undisturbed for several days or longer. 
• After a few days, you should start to see crystals forming inside your eggshell. Use a spoon to remove it from the solution, or carefully pour the supersaturated solution out of the eggshell. 

A crystal is a hard, solid substance made of molecules that bond together in specific patterns to form a shape with straight edges and flat surfaces. If you made more than one type of crystal eggshell geode, you saw that not all crystals have the same shape or size. The site where a crystal begins to grow, called its nucleation site, determines its size: fewer nucleation sites mean larger crystals, and many nucleation sites produce smaller crystals. 

A few molecules of magnesium sulfate or aluminum potassium sulfate (or whatever solid you used) found each other in the solution and joined together in a crystal formation. More molecules joined until enough gathered to form a visible crystalline solid. Chemists refer to this as a crystal ‘falling out of’ the solution. If you left these crystals in the solution, they’d continue to grow. 

Learn about Fizz, Foam, and Fire! Perform several chemical reactions to identify evidence for chemical change, use clues to describe reactants and products, and determine whether reactions are endothermic or exothermic.

View Details:

Accelerate (3rd-7th grade)

In Stock & Ready to Ship

Need It Fast? See Delivery Options In Cart.

Encourage nature exploration from a young age with this backpack kit for kids! This starter nature backpack kit comes with age-appropriate tools to help kids get the most out of the outdoors - starting in their own backyards.

This LED microscope is designed to last a lifetime. It’s easy-to-use, sturdy, and makes the most intricate cell details visible.

Give students a solid chemistry foundation with the hands-on experiments in this complete lab kit! This set has 40+ real science tools and chemicals, 27 engaging experiments, a 46-page manual & safety equipment.

Item ships to the United States only.

How can playing with slime, glooze & oobleck teach kids about chemical reactions & polymers? With our slime science kit! Explore the behavior of 4 types of slime & learn about valuable scientific principles along the way!

This large geode is fun to break open and discover crystals or other interesting mineral deposits inside.

This Introduction to Electricity Kit teaches about parallel and series circuits, light bulbs, resistors, diodes, and motors.

Everything you need for test tube experiments! This set contains 6 glass test tubes, a rack, cleaning brush, stoppers, and clamp.

If you are what you eat, what makes up your food? Experiment and learn about the connections between chemistry & nutrition for a meaningful STEM activity.

Explore the power of the sun as you learn about alternative energy, photovoltaic cells, and electrical circuits.

We get it. Science can be messy. But Home Science Tools' products and service can handle it.

Our products are durable, reliable, and affordable to take you from the field to the lab to the kitchen. They won't let you down, no matter what they're up against. Whether it's (over)eager young scientists year after year, or rigorous requirements that come once-in-a lifetime.

And if your science inquiry doesn't go as expected, you can expect our customer service team to help. Count on friendly voices at the other end of the phone and expert advice in your inbox. They're not happy until you are.

Bottom line? We guarantee our products and service won't mess up your science study—no matter how messy it gets.

Questions? Get in touch with our Customer Service team.

Egg in a Bottle

Activity length, activity type, discrepant event (investigatable).

In this demonstration, students will use differences in air pressure to force an egg into a bottle.

Air expands when it is heated. If air is heated in a container that prevents expansion, the pressure of the gas increases. When the heat source is removed, the air will contract and decrease in pressure. In a container, this causes the outside air particles to push into the container to equalize the pressure inside and out. Air always flows from a high-pressure system to a low-pressure system ("air flows from high to low").

In this demonstration, the lit matches heat the air inside the bottle. When air is heated it expands and some of it escapes out the bottle. When the matches go out, the air inside the bottle cools and contracts (takes up less space), thus creating a lower air pressure area inside the bottle than outside. Normally, the higher-pressure air outside the bottle would come rushing in to equalize the lower-pressure air in the bottle. The problem is that the egg is in the way. The air molecules on the outside of the bottle push the egg into the bottle.

Teacher Note:  The air pressure does not decrease due to the burning of the oxygen inside the bottle. It is due to the air expanding and contracting. If students believe 'using up oxygen' is what causes the egg to be sucked into the bottle challenge them to design an experiment to prove or disprove this theory. 

Describe the characteristics of air.

Explain how air pressure works.

Discuss how air pressure affects our daily lives.

Per Demo or Class: 1 glass bottle with the opening slightly smaller than the hardboiled egg (milk or juice bottles work well) 1 peeled hard-boiled egg matches vegetable oil (optional)

Key Questions

• How can we get the egg into the bottle without chopping it up?
• Why is an egg suitable for this experiment? Could we use a ping-pong ball or a golf ball?
• Does the egg get “sucked” into the bottle? Why or why not?
• How else could you change the pressure of the air inside the bottle?
• How will we get the egg out? How do we increase the pressure inside the bottle?

Preparation

• Hard boil a medium sized egg and peel it.
• Grease the mouth of the bottle with vegetable oil (optional).
• Place the glass bottle on the table.
• Set the egg on the neck of the bottle to demonstrate that the egg cannot be pushed into the bottle (this is because the air inside is trapped).
• Light 3 matches at once and drop them into the bottle.
• Quickly place the egg over the mouth of the bottle. The egg will get sucked into the bottle.
• To get the egg out of the bottle, turn the bottle upside down and blow into it, so that the egg acts as a one-way valve. The increased air pressure in the bottle will cause the egg to pop back out.

Teacher Tips:

• Water can be used on the bottle’s mouth instead of oil, but ensure that the inside of bottle isn’t wet though, as this will put out the flame.
• Instead of lighting a match, you can roll up one sheet of paper towel into a stick/tube shape. Then, light one end of the “stick” with a match and drop it into the bottle.
• During step 2 be careful not to break the egg as then air will be able to escape (you can substitute the egg for a small balloon to allow kids to really try to push a balloon into a bottle)
• Repeat this experiment with an “upside-down twist”: 1. Carefully hold the wider end of the egg in one hand and slowly push two birthday candles into the narrow end of the egg. 2. Light the candles and sing happy birthday to the egg. 3. Turn the bottle upside-down and slowly move it into position above the flaming candles. 4. Allow the flames to heat up the air inside the bottle for just a few seconds and then place the bottle down over the candles. The candles will go out and the egg will squeeze up into the bottle with a “Pop!” Repeat this experiment with boiling water (a good way to prove that 'using up oxygen' is not the cause): 1. Pour the boiling water into the bottle. 2. Carefully roll the water around in the bottle and then pour it out. 3. Quickly put the egg back on the neck of the bottle and wait for it to get pushed into the bottle. Draw a diagram of the setup 1) before the matches were lit, 2) after the matches were dropped, and 3) after the matches went out. Indicate the relative areas of high and low pressure. Show with arrows the flow of high-pressure air trying to equalize low-pressure air.

About the sticker

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

Comet Crisp

T-Rex and Baby

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

Buddy the T-Rex

Science Buddies

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

Western Dinosaur

Time-Travel T-Rex

Related Resources

In these activities students explore the impressive force of air and learn how air pressure affects their daily lives., eggstraordinary eggsperiments, there are many easy and fun experiments that can be done with eggs, encompassing a number of different scientific principles., related school offerings.

Visit Eureka! Gallery

We believe that now, more than ever, the world needs people who care about science. help us fund the future and next generation of problem solvers, wonder seekers, world changers and nerds..

Egg in a Bottle Demonstration

The Power of Air Pressure

• Projects & Experiments
• Chemical Laws
• Periodic Table
• Scientific Method
• Biochemistry
• Physical Chemistry
• Medical Chemistry
• Chemistry In Everyday Life
• Famous Chemists
• Activities for Kids
• Abbreviations & Acronyms
• Weather & Climate
• Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
• B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College

The egg in a bottle demonstration is an easy chemistry or physics demonstration you can do at home or in the lab. You set an egg on top of a bottle (as pictured). You change the temperature of the air inside the container either by dropping a piece of burning paper into the bottle or by directly heating/cooling the bottle. Air pushes the egg into the bottle.

• Peeled hard-boiled egg (or soft-boiled, if a yolky mess interests you)
• Flask or jar with an opening slightly smaller than the diameter of the egg
• Paper/lighter or very hot water or very cold liquid

In a chemistry lab , this demonstration is most commonly performed using a 250-ml flask and a medium or large egg. If you are trying this demonstration at home, you can use a glass apple juice bottle. If you use too large of an egg, it will get sucked into the bottle, but stuck (resulting in a gooey mess if the egg was soft-boiled). We recommend a medium egg for most bottles. An extra-large egg gets wedged in the bottle.

Perform the Demonstration

• Method 1 : Set a piece of paper on fire and drop it into the bottle. Set the egg on top of the bottle (small side pointed downward). When the flame goes out, the egg will get pushed into the bottle.
• Method 2 : Set the egg on the bottle. Run the bottle under very hot tap water. Warmed air will escape around the egg. Set the bottle on the counter. As it cools, the egg will be pushed into the bottle.
• Method 3 : Set the egg on the bottle. Immerse the bottle in a very cold liquid. We have heard of this being done using liquid nitrogen , but that sounds dangerous (could shatter the glass). We recommend trying ice water. The egg is pushed in as the air inside the bottle is chilled.

How It Works

If you just set the egg on the bottle, its diameter is too large for it to slip inside. The pressure of the air inside and outside of the bottle is the same, so the only force that would cause the egg to enter the bottle is gravity. Gravity isn't sufficient to pull the egg inside the bottle.

When you change the temperature of the air inside the bottle, you change the pressure of the air inside the bottle. If you have a constant volume of air and heat it, the pressure of the air increases. If you cool the air, the pressure decreases. If you can lower the pressure inside the bottle enough, the air pressure outside the bottle will push the egg into the container.

It's easy to see how the pressure changes when you chill the bottle, but why is the egg pushed into the bottle when heat is applied? When you drop burning paper into the bottle, the paper will burn until the oxygen is consumed (or the paper is consumed, whichever comes first). Combustion heats the air in the bottle, increasing the air pressure. The heated air pushes the egg out of the way, making it appear to jump on the mouth of the bottle. As the air cools, the egg settles down and seals the mouth of the bottle. Now there is less air in the bottle than when you started, so it exerts less pressure. When the temperature inside and outside the bottle is the same, there is enough positive pressure outside the bottle to push the egg inside.

Heating the bottle produces the same result (and may be easier to do if you can't keep the paper burning long enough to put the egg on the bottle). The bottle and the air are heated. Hot air escapes from the bottle until the pressure both inside and outside the bottle is the same. As the bottle and air inside continue to cool, a pressure gradient builds, so the egg is pushed into the bottle.

How to Get the Egg Out

You can get the egg out by increasing the pressure inside the bottle so that it is higher than the pressure of the air outside of the bottle. Roll the egg around so it is situated with the small end resting in the mouth of the bottle. Tilt the bottle just enough so you can blow air inside the bottle. Roll the egg over the opening before you take your mouth away. Hold the bottle upside down and watch the egg fall out of the bottle. Alternatively, you can apply negative pressure to the bottle by sucking the air out, but then you risk choking on an egg, so that's not a good plan.

• Create a Magic Genie in a Bottle Effect (Chemistry)
• Cloud in a Bottle Demonstration
• How to Prove Air Has Volume
• Convection Currents in Science, What They Are and How They Work
• Leidenfrost Effect Demonstrations
• How to Boil Water at Room Temperature Without Heating It
• Mentos and Soda Project
• Endothermic Reaction Demonstration
• Grade School Science Fair Project Ideas
• How to Make a Mentos & Diet Soda Chemical Volcano Eruption
• Chemistry Laboratory Glassware Gallery
• How to Make Distilled Water at Home or While Camping
• How to Make a Cloud in a Bottle
• How to Make a Volcano Using Pop Rocks
• Kid-Friendly Elephant Toothpaste Demo
• How to Make Instant Snow From Boiling Water

Get Your ALL ACCESS Shop Pass here →

Egg In A Bottle

Can an egg slip into a bottle without you even touching it? Sounds like magic, right? Well, it’s not magic – it’s science! Find out you can get an egg into a bottle. We’ll guide you through the steps, explain the science stuff in simple terms and even give you tips to turn it into an egg-cellent science project! This egg in a bottle experiment is about to take your love for science to a whole new level. Are you egg-cited?

Explore Air Pressure With Kids

This egg in a bottle project is a fun way to learn about how changes in air pressure can result in a fascinating and seemingly magical outcome. All you need are a few supplies you would have in your own kitchen. That’s why we call it kitchen science !

Our science experiments are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, and quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to set up and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home!

Grab a bottle or jar, and find out how an egg can get sucked in the bottle. Get your kids to make a prediction, what do they think will happen to the egg when it seals the bottle?

Encourage kids to think critically and analyze why the egg moves into the bottle. They will learn to connect cause and effect, linking the heating and cooling of air to the movement of the egg.

This experiment may require some patience and persistence as kids troubleshoot and try different approaches to make the egg move into the bottle successfully. A great way to teach them the importance of perseverance in scientific exploration.

Extend the activity by getting kids to make observations, form hypotheses, conduct the experiment, and draw conclusions based on their findings. Kids can even share their findings and explain the science behind the experiment. This may involve discussing the concepts with peers, teachers, or parents.

Using The Scientific Method

The scientific method is a process or method of research. A problem is identified, information about the problem is gathered, a hypothesis or question is formulated from the information, and the hypothesis is tested with an experiment to prove or disprove its validity.

Sounds heavy… What in the world does that mean?!? It means you don’t need to try and solve the world’s biggest science questions! The scientific method is all about studying and learning things right around you.

As children develop practices that involve creating, gathering data evaluating, analyzing, and communicating, they can apply these critical thinking skills to any situation.

LEARN MORE HERE: Using The Scientific Method with Kids

Note: The use of the best Science and Engineering Practices is also relevant to the topic of using the scientific method. Read more here and see if it fits your science planning needs.

Helpful Science Resources

Here are a few resources that will help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students. Then you can feel confident yourself when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

• Best Science Practices (as it relates to the scientific method)
• Science Vocabulary
• 8 Science Books for Kids
• All About Scientists
• Science Supplies List
• Science Tools for Kids
• Join us in the Club

How Does An Egg Get Sucked Into A Bottle?

When you add the burning paper to the bottle or jar, the air inside gets hot. When the air gets hot, it takes up more space inside the jar. The egg is placed on top of the bottle creating a seal that keeps the air from escaping.

As the air inside the bottle heats up, it expands. According to Boyle’s Law, when the volume of the gas (air) increases, its pressure decreases. Once the paper burns out, the air inside the bottle begins to cool.

As the air inside the bottle cools, it contracts, creating a partial vacuum. Outside air pressure is now greater than the pressure inside the bottle. The pressure difference between the inside and outside of the bottle causes the egg to be pushed into the bottle.

This experiment is a hands-on illustration of the principles outlined by Boyle’s Law. Boyle’s Law states that at a constant temperature, the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume. In simple terms, if you squeeze a gas into a smaller space, its pressure goes up, and if you let it expand into a larger space, its pressure goes down.

Related Experiments: Use air pressure to crush a can , and make water rise.

Turn It Into A Egg In A Bottle Science Project

Science projects are an excellent tool for older kiddos to show what they know about science! Plus, they can be used in all sorts of environments including classrooms, homeschool, and groups.

Kids can take everything they have learned about using the scientific method , stating a hypothesis, choosing variables , making observations and analyzing and presenting data.

Want to turn this experiment into an awesome science fair project? Check out these helpful resources.

• Science Project Tips From A Teacher
• Science Fair Board Ideas
• Easy Science Fair Projects

Free Printable Science Journal Worksheets

Create a science notebook with these easy-to-use science worksheets to accompany any experiment. Grab your free science process journal pack !

Egg in a Bottle Experiment

• Small mouth
• Glass bottle or jar (A glass coffee or a spaghetti sauce bottle will work well)
• Lighter or match
• Paper strip
• Peeled hard boiled egg that is slightly larger than the bottle’s opening

Instructions:

WARNING: Fire is involved so adult supervision is required!

STEP 1: Fold a paper strip and light it with a match.

STEP 3: Drop the burning paper into the jar or bottle and place the egg on top.

STEP 3: Now watch the magic happen.

Tip: If the egg does not pass easily into the jar, you can lubricate the edge of the jar with vegetable oil.

STEP 4: Record your observations with our printable science worksheets above.

Investigate: Try placing the jar in a bowl of hot water. Did it have the same effect?

More Fun Science Experiments To Try

• Egg in Vinegar Experiment
• Bread Mold Experiment
• Salt Water Density Experiment (this also uses an egg!)
• Can Crusher Experiment
• Floating Rice Experiment
• Glowing Spinach

Printable Science Projects Pack For Kids

If you’re looking to grab all of our printable science projects in one convenient place plus exclusive worksheets and bonuses like a STEAM Project pack, our Science Project Pack is what you need! Over 300+ Pages!

• 90+ classic science activities  with journal pages, supply lists, set up and process, and science information.  NEW! Activity-specific observation pages!
• Best science practices posters  and our original science method process folders for extra alternatives!
• Be a Collector activities pack  introduces kids to the world of making collections through the eyes of a scientist. What will they collect first?
• Know the Words Science vocabulary pack  includes flashcards, crosswords, and word searches that illuminate keywords in the experiments!
• My science journal writing prompts  explore what it means to be a scientist!!
• Bonus STEAM Project Pack:  Art meets science with doable projects!
• Bonus Quick Grab Packs for Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics

Subscribe to receive a free 5-Day STEM Challenge Guide

~ projects to try now ~.

Science Fun

Egg In A Bottle Magic Science Experiment

Do you think it is possible to put an egg inside a bottle with an opening that is smaller than the egg? In this fun and easy science experiment, we’re going to show you how to put an egg inside a bottle. Being able to do this seemingly impossible task may appear magical but we will show you it’s just science. 

Important – This experiment requires adult assistance and supervision due to the use of matches. 

• A bottle with a wide mouth – check to make sure that the egg is slightly larger than the opening of the bottle
• Hardboiled egg
• Small piece of paper – about one inch by one inch

Instructions:

• Place the egg on top of the bottle to demonstrate that the egg will not fit inside.
• Now remove the egg.
• Drop the piece of paper inside the bottle.
• Have an adult assistant strike the three matches together until they burst into flame.
• Have the adult quickly drop the matches inside the bottle.
• Immediately set the egg onto the top of the bottle making sure it is sitting snuggly.
• As the matches go out, observe what happens to the egg. 

EXPLORE AWESOME SCIENCE EXPERIMENT VIDEOS!

How it Works:

The matches heat up the air inside the bottle. This causes the air to expand and some of it even escapes. Once the matches go out, the air inside the bottle cools and contracts. This lowers the air pressure inside the bottle. The higher air pressure outside of the bottle seems to magically push the egg inside. 

Make This A Science Project:

Are there other ways to reduce the air pressure inside the bottle and cause the egg to go inside? 

EXPLORE TONS OF FUN AND EASY SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS!

SUBSCRIBE AND NEVER MISS A NEW SCIENCE FUN VIDEO!

previous experiment

Next experiment.

How to Do the Egg in a Bottle Experiment

“Wow! How did you do that??” As a parent or a teacher, those are some of the best words you can hear. Well, after I love you, of course. And there’s nothing like science to get the kids intrigued and wondering how something works. That’s why we HAD to do the classic Egg in a Bottle Experiment . An egg, some fire, and you’ve got a really cool bottle trick on your hands! And some fascinated kids ready to learn.

Egg in a Bottle Experiment Supplies Needed

• Hard-boiled egg, peeled (be sure to have a few because you’ll want to see this again!)
• 1-quart glass milk bottle or another glass bottle with a mouth smaller than the egg
• Matches or lighter

SAFETY FIRST!

This egg in a bottle trick is best done as a demonstration by adults. Children should never use matches or a lighter. Have the adult complete the part of this experiment that deals with lighting the matches and burning the paper. Always keep matches and lighters out of the reach of children. Also, keep a fire extinguisher nearby in case of emergency.

• Cut a strip of paper 6-8″ long and 3/4″ wide. The paper should be narrow enough to easily fit in the bottle and long enough that it ends below the top of the bottle when placed fully inside.
• Get your eggs ready, peeled, and nearby.
• Light the piece of paper and drop it into the bottle.

• Quickly place the hard-boiled egg on top of the mouth of the bottle.

• Watch it pop inside the bottle!

Let’s watch the experiment in action in this video…

How Did the Egg Get Sucked Into the Bottle?

This is a classic science experiment that demonstrates the power of pressure. It looks like the egg is getting sucked into the bottle. But, as my 9th-grade science teacher Mrs. Grimm drilled into our heads,  there’s actually no such thing as suction. It’s just high pressure winning over low pressure. And air pressure follows something called the Ideal Gas Law.

Pressure * Volume = number of moles * R (gas  constant) * Temperature

This is a cool way of remembering that when the temperature goes up, the pressure goes up, too in a fixed environment like a milk bottle. And vice versa.

So what’s happening in the experiment? When you start, the air pressure inside the bottle and the air pressure outside the bottle are equal, and the egg can’t move. But, as the paper burns inside the bottle, the temperature goes up, causing the pressure to go up. After you place the egg on the bottle top, it seals up the bottle a bit, but still allows the high pressure to force the air out of the bottle. This is why you may get to see the egg do a little jiggle on top. But, when all the air is forced out of the bottle, the burning paper runs out of oxygen and can’t burn anymore. So the flame goes out. And as you can guess, when the flame goes out, the bottle cooled and the air temperature goes down. And, so does the pressure. Suddenly, the pressure on the outside of the bottle is higher than the pressure on the inside of the bottle. And POP! In goes the egg. Because high pressure won over low pressure and air pushed the egg into the bottle.

How to Remove the Egg from the Bottle

Here’s your challenge after the experiment. How do you get the egg out of the bottle? It’s a great time for experimenting! You just have to figure out how to make high pressure win over low pressure again. Basically, get the pressure in the bottle high enough that it can push the egg out. Good luck. I tried blowing in there with a straw-like I heard would work. No joy. But I’m guessing that’s why there are no pictures of getting eggs out of the bottle on the web… So first experiment, then grab a fork, break it up, and pop the bottle in the dishwasher instead…

More Science Fun for Kids

Explore the entire house with this fun At-Home Science Scavenger Hunt .

Or check out this mega list of 25+ Easy and Awesome Science Projects for Kids!

Love Kitchen Science? You'll love STEAM Kids in the Kitchen!

Looking for some more STEAM inspiration that use can use right now? Instant gratification style? Check out STEAM Kids in the Kitchen: Hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Math Hands-On Recipes and Activities for Kids ebook ! It’s packed full of 70+ Bring STEAM learning fun into the kitchen with these hands-on activities and recipes. Learn what makes bread rise, colors change, and how to make an epic pudding model of the Earth.

15 thoughts on “How to Do the Egg in a Bottle Experiment”

Pingback: How to Do the Egg in a Bottle Experiment • Little Genius International Kindergarten and Educational Center

Pingback: 25 6th Grade Science Projects That Will Wow Your Students – Education Discussion

Pingback: Genius Egg Experiments and STEM Projects For All Young Scientists

Pingback: 45 Best Sixth Grade Science Experiments, Projects, and Activities | atmhaber.com

Pingback: 45 6th Grade Science Projects That Will Wow Your Students - US Clock News

Pingback: 45 Best Sixth Grade Science Experiments, Projects, and Activities – E-Capitals

Pingback: 45 Best Sixth Grade Science Experiments, Projects, and Activities – I-Capitals

Pingback: 45 Best Sixth Grade Science Experiments, Projects, and Activities – Usae

Pingback: 45 Best Sixth Grade Science Experiments, Projects, and Activities - YoursBulletin

Pingback: 60 Easy Science Experiments Using Materials You Already Have On Hand | atmhaber.com

Pingback: 60 Easy Science Experiments Using Materials You Already Have On Hand - US Clock News

Pingback: 60 Easy Science Experiments Using Materials You Already Have On Hand – E-Capitals

Pingback: 60 Easy Science Experiments Using Materials You Already Have On Hand – I-Capitals

Pingback: 60 Easy Science Experiments Using Materials You Already Have On Hand - Edulogg

Pingback: 60 Easy Science Experiments Using Materials You Already Have On Hand - Country Highlights

Comments are closed.

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

• FREE Experiments
• Kitchen Science
• Climate Change
• Egg Experiments
• Fairy Tale Science
• Edible Science
• Human Health
• Inspirational Women
• Forces and Motion
• Science Fair Projects
• STEM Challenges
• Science Sparks Books
• Contact Science Sparks
• Science Resources for Home and School

Egg in a Bottle Experiment

August 13, 2018 By Emma Vanstone Leave a Comment

Did you know you can make an egg drop into a bottle without touching it ? This easy egg in a bottle experiment is a great, fun way to demonstrate air pressure.

What is air pressure?

Air pressure is the force exerted by air on any surface in contact with it.

Egg in a bottle experiment

You’ll need:.

A boiled egg

A clean, dry glass bottle or jar with a neck a little smaller than an egg

Matches – it took us a few attempts to get it to work

Instructions

Place the cooled boiled egg on top of the glass bottle or jar to check there is no way the egg will drop through.

Ask an adult to light a match and drop it inside the jar. Quickly place the egg on the top of the jar.

Watch as the egg drops down inside. Be a little patient with this as the egg doesn’t drop down immediately, but should drop slowly once the match goes out.

Why does the egg drop into the bottle?

The matches heat up the air inside the glass jar or bottle.

The warm air expands and some escapes out of the jar.

Once the match goes out, the air starts to cool, and the air pressure drops.

This means the air outside the jar now has a higher pressure than the inside, and forces its way inside the jar, making the egg move downwards at the same time.

Related Posts

More  air pressure experiments for kids.

Make an egg shrink, make an unbreakable egg and lots more  egg experiments .

Amazon.com Widgets

Last Updated on February 10, 2021 by Emma Vanstone

Safety Notice

Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

Reader Interactions

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Playing With Rain

Explore the World Around You

in Instagram Feed · Kids Science Experiments · Weather Science

Egg In a Bottle Experiment

Share with your friends!

Have you ever tried to fit a peeled hard-boiled egg into a narrow neck bottle!? Chances are if you try, you will notice the egg is too big to fit into the bottle unless you use this super cool trick we learn about in this Egg In a Bottle Experiment!

Find more Egg Experiments For Kids here!

Watching an egg get squeezed and sucked into a bottle is a fun and fascinating way for kids to learn about the power of air pressure!

Table of Contents

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Supplies Needed:

• Narrow Neck Bottle or Vase
• Piece of Paper
• Lighter or Matches
• Hard-Boiled Egg

Hard-Boiled Egg in a Bottle Experiment

• Peel a hard-boiled egg.
• Try get the egg inside a narrow neck glass bottle.
• Fold or roll up a small piece of paper.
• Have a adult light the paper on fire.
• Drop the paper into a narrow-neck glass bottle.
• Place the egg on top of the bottle and wait for it to get pulled into the bottle!

Step 1: Remove The Shell From a Hard-Boiled Egg

To get started with this fun egg experiment, you will need to boil an egg first. You might as well boil a few eggs at the same time to enjoy a little snack along with this experiment too!

Once the egg has been boiled and cooled, go ahead and crack the shell and peel the shell off.

Step 2: Try To Get The Egg into a Narrow-Mouthed Bottle

Grab your freshly peeled and boiled egg and drop it inside a narrow necked glass bottle. Sounds easy right!? You will soon find out that it’s not easy at all if the opening of your bottle has a smaller diameter than the egg!

You can even try applying a little pressure to get the egg inside the bottle and still, the egg will likely be too large to fit into the bottle.

I also like to try pushing the egg in with the more pointy end of the egg into the bottle first and then flip it and try pushing the more rounded end in first…but still no luck getting it in the bottle!

Step 3: Roll Up a Small Paper

Once you realize the egg will not fit into the bottle without intervening with a little magic and science, set the egg down and go grab some paper.

You don’t need a full sheet of paper, you just want to fold up about a half sheet of paper into a size that will fit through the opening in the bottle.

I prefer to roll my paper up so that it is narrow enough to slide into the bottle, but long enough to light one end on fire without burning my hand…yes, we are going to start a fire in the bottle next!

Step 4: Light the Paper on Fire

Using a lighter or matches, and with adult help and supervision, carefully hold one end of the paper while lighting the other end on fire.

You might even want to wear flame-resistant gloves for extra protection during this step, but you certainly need an adult to do this step, or at least very closely supervise!

You can also try this Egg in an Upside-Down Bottle Trick if you would prefer to use a candle instead of lighting paper on fire!

Step 5: Place the Paper in The Bottle

When your paper has begun to burn, quickly, but carefully drop the burning paper inside the glass bottle.

The paper will continue to burn inside the bottle while heating up the air inside very quickly. This process of quickly heating up the air will play a key factor in the science behind getting the egg inside the bottle in the next step!

Step 6: Set the Egg on Top of the Bottle and Watch it Go Inside!

Now its time to watch some fiery and fascinating science happen right before our eyes! While the paper is still burning inside the bottle, quickly place the hard-boiled egg on the top opening of the bottle.

The flame will burn up all the available oxygen inside the bottle and the flame will die out fairly quickly after the egg is set on top of the bottle.

Shortly after the flame goes out you will see the egg slowly start getting pulled into the bottle and then it will suddenly plop right into the bottle!

Congratulations! You have just succeeded in using the fascinating force of air pressure to push an egg into a bottle. Now let’s dive into the science behind how this egg in a bottle experiment works!

How Does The Egg in a Bottle Experiment Work?

This egg in a bottle experiment works thanks to the fact that hot air expands and cold air contracts.

As the flame burns inside the bottle and rapidly heats up the air, the air molecules bounce around quickly and the air pressure inside the bottle because greater than the air pressure outside of the bottle.

When the egg is placed on top of the bottle, it cuts off the oxygen supply to the flame. Fire needs oxygen to burn, so the fire quickly burns out.

As the fire goes out the air cools and contracts as the air molecules slow down. This cooling effect decreases the air pressure inside the bottle to a point that the outside air pressure is now greater.

As we have learned in other cool air pressure experiments like this Rising Water Experiment Step by Step , high pressure likes to move towards low pressure.

The higher pressure outside the bottle wants to get inside the lower pressure inside the bottle and actually pushes the egg into the bottle as the air makes its way inside!

So even though it looks like the egg is “sucked” into the bottle, it is technically pushed into the bottle by the difference of air pressure between the outside of the bottle and the inside.

How to Get an Egg Out of a Bottle

Now that we got the egg into a bottle, how in the world are we going to get the egg back out of the bottle in one piece!?

We are actually going to use the same air pressure trick that we used to get the egg into the bottle to get it out!

We need to increase the air pressure inside the bottle to a level that is higher than the air pressure outside the bottle. To do this you will need to put your mouth on the bottle opening, tilt the bottle up, and blow into it.

Blowing extra air into the bottle will increase the pressure inside the bottle. When you release your mouth, the higher pressure air on the inside will try to escape to the lower pressure outside and it will push the egg out of the bottle with it!

PIN THIS EXPERIMENT FOR LATER

More Fun Experiments For Kids:

• How To Make A Cloud In A Water Bottle
• Air Pressure Bottle Experiment
• How to Make Instant Snow at Home

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

MORE ABOUT PLAYING WITH RAIN

LET’S CONNECT

Search for more ideas, create at your own risk.

All content on this blog was created for inspiration and entertainment purposes. Creating anything with the suggested tools, products or methods, is under your own risk!

Egg in a Bottle – Air Pressure Experiment

• April 21, 2021
• 10 Minute Science , 7-9 Year Olds , Physics

Science is amazing as it does wonders in our real life and around the world.

Today, Let’s explore “Egg in a Bottle”, which proves using simple science concepts anyone can put an egg into a bottle without touching it.

Yes, the egg can move into a bottle without any external help but with the help of science.

Objectives in this Science Activity

Using this experiment, children can learn,

1) Relation between Temperature and Pressure

2) Impact of air pressure on objects

3) Impact of air pressure in our daily activities

4) Properties of air

Amazed! Yes, though the experiment is quick and simple, it carries a lot of scientific information to inspire young scientists.

Egg in a Bottle – Experiment

Supplies required

1) One glass container or jar. Make sure the opening of the glass jar is smaller than the size of a boiled egg because to fit the egg perfectly instead of slipping into the jar easily. Milk and Juice bottles work well for this purpose.

2) A small piece of Paper

3) Fire source i.e. a candle or lighter or a matchbox

4) One or two boiled eggs

Preparations

Just before the experiment, pick fresh and raw eggs and boil them until they turn hard. Probably, this step takes 7-10 minutes.

Once boiled, peel off the outer shell part of the boiled egg and wash it under tap water to remove any hard remnants attached to the egg. Then, keep it aside on the experiment table.

Simple Step by Step Instructions

Step-1:  Place a clean and transparent glass jar on the experiment table.

And then pick a piece of paper and burn it using a lighter. Please make sure the paper is folded into a strip such that it is easy for you to drop it into the jar bottle.

Step-2:  When the paper catches fire, immediately drop it into the glass jar placed on the work table. You must drop the burning paper into the jar before the fire goes off.

Step-3:  Now, Place the hard-boiled egg on top of the glass jar opening perfectly. Then observe the results.

Results:  You will observe the egg slowly moving into the bottle. At times, the egg will go into the glass bottle as it is without any breakages, but sometimes it may spill while squeezing into the bottle.

Note:  If your egg fails or feeling difficult to slip down into the bottle, then you can apply vegetable oil around the neck of the bottle. Greasing oil helps the egg to move into the bottle easily.

Are you surprised watching an egg going into the bottle without any help from external forces? Do you want to learn that magical science trick? Then, let us discuss how this simple science activity worked out very well.

The Science Concepts behind The Egg in a Bottle Experiment

Air is a matter of substance, and hence it contains weight and other assets like density and pressure.

Generally, the air surrounding us or objects does not show any pressure because it surrounds with equal pressure.

But when there is additional pressure in the air, it starts showing its pressure through moving objects by push and pull trials.

In this science activity, we will observe that air shows its pressure when the opportunity is given.

Egg moving into the bottle without touching by external sources proves that air pressure is acting upon it. Let us discuss it in detail.

Before the experiment begins, the pressure of the air surrounding and inside the jar is the same as it is equally distributed.

That means the pressure inside and outside the glass bottle is the same at the beginning of the experiment.

But when we placed the burning paper into the glass bottle, the air inside the jar starts to expand. Because air molecules expand when it gets warmed up, and this is the specific characteristic of air.

And as soon as the egg is placed upon the opening of the glass bottle, the fire goes off, and the air molecules begin to cool down.

As the air molecules cool down, they start contracting themselves by lowering the air pressure inside the glass bottle.

That means there is a difference in the air pressure existing inside and outside the glass bottle.

Because there is less air pressure inside the bottle. The egg slowly squeezes into the bottle as the outside pressure pushes it from outside.

Yes, when the air molecules inside the bottle cool down, it offers more space to welcome additional air molecules.

In this process, the outside air molecules rush into the bottle to fill the spaces. So, it keeps pressure on the egg and helps it slip down into the bottle.

Extension Ideas

You can try out the experiment using other supplies such as boiling water and a balloon.

1) Use boiled water instead of paper inside the bottle and do the experiment

2) Try out using an inflated balloon filled with water in the place of a boiled egg.

Interesting Air Pressure Activities for Kids

Balloon in a Bottle

Crushing Can Experiment

Drip Drop Water Bottle – Science Behind Water Dispenser

Balloon in Hot and Cold Water

Tips to Teacher s

Here are the important questions a teacher can ask to make the students involved completely during the experiment. And to encourage them to participate in revealing and understanding the science behind the experiment.

1) What made an egg move into the bottle without touching it?

2) Why only eggs must be used in this science activity?

3) Are there any other possibilities to change the pressure of the air inside and outside the bottle?

4) Will the egg come out of the bottle again? If Yes, How?

5) What are the properties of air that made the egg move into the bottle?

Safety Measures

As we are dealing with fire, children need to be very careful while performing this activity. It is better to put on their safety guards even though an adult or teacher performs the activity. Adult supervision is a must when a child is performing this activity on his/her own.

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name  *

Email  *

Add Comment  *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Post Comment

Reading & Math for K-5

• Kindergarten
• Learning numbers
• Comparing numbers
• Place Value
• Roman numerals
• Subtraction
• Multiplication
• Order of operations
• Drills & practice
• Measurement
• Factoring & prime factors
• Proportions
• Shape & geometry
• Data & graphing
• Word problems
• Children's stories
• Leveled Stories
• Sentences & passages
• Context clues
• Cause & effect
• Compare & contrast
• Fact vs. fiction
• Fact vs. opinion
• Main idea & details
• Story elements
• Conclusions & inferences
• Sounds & phonics
• Words & vocabulary
• Reading comprehension
• Early writing
• Numbers & counting
• Simple math
• Social skills
• Other activities
• Dolch sight words
• Fry sight words
• Multiple meaning words
• Prefixes & suffixes
• Vocabulary cards
• Other parts of speech
• Punctuation
• Capitalization
• Narrative writing
• Opinion writing
• Informative writing
• Cursive alphabet
• Cursive letters
• Cursive letter joins
• Cursive words
• Cursive sentences
• Cursive passages
• Grammar & Writing

Breadcrumbs

Egg in a Bottle Science Experiment

The experiment involves placing a hard-boiled egg into a glass bottle without using any physical force or breaking the egg.

Materials you will need

A glass bottle with a narrow neck (such as a milk bottle)

A hard-boiled egg

Matches or a strip of paper

Vinegar (optional)

A lighter (optional)

Methodology

• Begin by hard-boiling an egg and allowing it to cool down completely. Make sure the egg is hard-boiled, as a raw egg could make a mess if it breaks inside the bottle.
• Take the glass bottle and remove any labels or obstructions from the opening. Make sure the bottle is clean and dry.
• If you want to remove the eggshell for a better visual effect, you can soak the egg in vinegar for a day or two. The vinegar will dissolve the shell, leaving the egg covered by a thin membrane. This step is optional but can enhance the experiment.
• Place the peeled hard-boiled egg near the opening of the bottle to ensure that it will fit inside.
• Light a match or a strip of paper and carefully drop it into the bottle. You want to create smoke inside the bottle. Be cautious and make sure not to burn yourself or any surrounding objects. We recommend this is performed by the parent.
• Immediately place the egg on the mouth of the bottle, making sure it covers the entire opening. Take care not to touch the sides of the bottle with the egg.
• Observe what happens. As the smoke inside the bottle cools down, it contracts, creating a partial vacuum. This reduced air pressure inside the bottle will cause the egg to be pushed inside to fill the void. This may take a bit of patience for this to happen, but be careful not to force the egg into the bottle manually.
• Once the egg is inside the bottle, you can tilt the bottle to allow the egg to roll out.

Note: If you don't want to use fire or matches, an alternative method involves heating the air inside the bottle by placing it in a bowl of hot water or using a hairdryer to blow hot air into the bottle. This heating process will create a similar pressure difference, drawing the egg into the bottle.

Remember to exercise caution during the experiment, especially when handling fire or hot objects.

This content is available to members only.

Join K5 to save time, skip ads and access more content. Learn More

• Forgot Password?

Egg In A Bottle Experiment – Or How To Get An (Unbroken) Egg Into An Unbroken Bottle

Egg in a bottle is one of those magical experiments that will astound middle-schoolers .  Add some drama showing that the mouth of the bottle is smaller than the egg.

Is it magic or science?  If you  get the egg into the bottle  without touching it , can you get it out again? 

You also may be interested in:

• Kiwi Co Reviews By Parents Like You
• Salt Crystal Leaves

Supplies Needed

• Eggs. The eggs shouldn’t be too big for the bottle mouth (The egg diameter should be less than 3/16 inch bigger than the bottle mouth)  
• Pot with water to boil  an  egg  
• Glass bottle like a  fruit-drink bottle or any bottle with the mouth slightly smaller than the egg.
• Cooking   Oil  
• 3×3” Piece of paper  
• Matches  or lighter  
• (Alternative to matches and a lighter is to pour hot water into the bottle to heat the inside of the bottle. Pour the water out and place the egg in its mouth.)  

Getting the Egg out of the Bottle  

• Volunteer to blow air in the bottle  
• 1 Tablespoon Baking soda  
• A  ¼ cup of vinegar  
• Container  
• Egg in the bottle  

What Mystery Are We Solving?

What will happen if you add a  burning   strip of paper  to a bottle and place a boiled egg  in  the mouth of the bottle? Is it magic or is there a scientific explanation?   If the egg is in the bottle, c an you suck the egg out of the bottle?

Safety Issues

The experiment requires adult  supervision. Kids may accidentally burn their fingers  or drop a burning match  when lighting strips of paper.  Have a fire extinguisher nearby.     

When blowing air into the bottle the egg may pop out into the mouth of the blower. It’s best if this part of the experiment is done by older kids who won’t choke from fright if the egg pops into their mouth.   

Be mindful that if the bottle has a defect, it may shatter with the heat. To be safe, wear goggles and gloves.   

How To/Directions

• Boil the egg in a pot. The water should cover the egg about an inch. Boil for about 5-8 minutes.  
• Take the pot from the stove and wait about 25-30 minutes. Then immerse the egg in cold water to cool down. 
• Lubricate the inside of the bottle mouth with some  cooking  oil  to prevent the egg from breaking .  (If the egg diameter is too big for the bottle mouth, it may also break)
• Peel the egg and place the  pointed narrow t ip of the egg  in   the bottle mouth.  The egg now rests in th e mouth but is too big to slide into the bottle. 
• Fold the piece of paper into a strip that is small enough to drop through the bottle mouth.   
• Light  the  strip of paper.   
• Lift the egg and drop the  burning paper into the bottle. 
• Quickly replace the egg.   
• Watch how the egg wiggles and is sucked into the bottle.   

Getting the Egg Out  Of  The Bottle  

• First, try sucking the egg out of the bottle. Nothing happens.   
• Now b low air into the bottle with the egg.   
• Be mindful because the egg will pop out of the bottle into the blower’s mouth.   
• Turn the bottle over; the egg gets stuck in the mouth of the bottle. 
• Turn the bottle on its right side and p our the baking soda and vinegar into the bottle  with the egg.   
• Now t urn the bottle upside down over a container.   
• The egg slides out of the bottle.   

What Just Happened Here?

Air pressure physics  pushes  the egg into the bottle. The  burning  paper inside the bottle heats up the air. The  excited  air molecules   expand by spreading out,  making the air less dense inside the bottle compared to the colder air outside the bottle.   

When the fire goes out, the air cools down inside the bottle and the air contracts  creating a vacuum .  The higher pressure of the colder air  outside the bottle  pushes the hardboiled egg into the bottle.   

When blowing air into the bottle, t he pressure increases when more air is blown into the bottle. To make space for the extra air, the air pushes the moveable egg out of the bottle.   

The baking soda and  vinegar create carbon dioxide, a gas that increases the air pressure inside the bottle .  When the bottle is turned upside down, the pressure forces the egg out of the bottle.   

What is the science of a raw egg being boiled and becoming a hardboiled egg?  The raw egg contains globular proteins  which are amino acid chains clumped together in individual spheres. Boiling egg forces the water and protein molecules to collide and break the amino acid chains apart. These amino acids form new networks with water molecules trapped inside the  protein  chains , changing the consistency of the egg from soft to hard . 

More Resources

http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/EggInBottle.htm  

http://scinight.weebly.com/magical-bottle.html  

https://www.homesciencetools.com/article/egg-in-bottle-project/  

  https://www.nsta.org/publications/news/story.aspx?id=48234  

Retha Groenewald is a professional writer working for FractusLearning. When not working with Fractus, she is web copywriter for the Christian market. Her writing is featured at Christian Web Copywriter and at Writing That Breathes Life.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

For this experiment you will need:

    • a hard-boiled egg     � a glass bottle with a mouth just slightly smaller than the egg (a fruit-drink bottle works well)     • a 8-cm by 8-cm (3-inch by 3-inch) piece of newspaper     � a match

Remove the shell from the egg. Set the egg on the mouth of the bottle to see that the egg does not fit through the mouth.

Fold the piece of newspaper into a strip that can be dropped into the bottle, about 1 cm by 8 cm.

Light the match and use it to ignite the folded strip of paper. Remove the egg from the mouth of the bottle and drop the burning strip of paper into the bottle. Before the fire goes out, set the egg back onto the mouth of the bottle. Within a few seconds the egg will squeeze through the mouth and into the bottle.

As it entered the bottle, the egg may have broken into pieces. This happens when the diameter of the egg is more than about 0.5 cm (about 3/16 inch) larger than the diameter of the bottle's opening. A medium or small egg may be small enough to enter the bottle without breaking. Also, rubbing some cooking oil onto the mouth of the bottle will make it easier for the egg to slide into the bottle without breaking.

A similar effect can be produced using a water-filled balloon in place of an egg. Just pour water into a round balloon to fill it without stretching it, then tie it shut. When the filled balloon is the size of an egg, it can be used in the same way as the hard-boiled egg.

Why does the egg slide into the bottle, even though no one is pushing it? Because the pressure of the air is pushing it. Before the burning paper was put into the bottle, the pressure of the air inside the bottle was the same as outside the bottle. The burning paper, however, heats the air inside the bottle. This causes the air inside to expand. When the egg is placed on top of the bottle, it seals the bottle, and the fire eventually goes out. When the fire goes out, the air inside the bottle cools. As it cools, the air contracts, and the pressure of the air inside the bottle becomes less than the pressure outside. Then, the higher outside pressure pushes the egg into the bottle!

Many years ago, milk came from the diary in glass bottle with a mouth just the perfect size for this experiment. Such bottles are now rare, but can still sometimes be found in antique shops. Reproduction milk bottles are also available from Educational Innovations .

Read a Doonesbury comic strip featuring this experiment!

Curious about the cornstarch experiment referenced in the comic? Check it out!

Egg in a Bottle Trick – Water Balloon Variation

Here’s a modern-day version of the classic egg in the bottle trick using a juice bottle and a water balloon..

Print this Experiment

The Egg in the Bottle trick is a science classic, dating back at least a hundred years. Here’s a variation that uses a water balloon instead of an egg. Be sure to look at the Take It Further ideas for a cool “upside down” twist.

Experiment Videos

Here's What You'll Need

A wide-mouth, glass juice bottle, hard-boiled eggs (just a little wider in size than the opening of the glass bottle), several strips of paper (2 x 6 inches), balloons (9-inch balloons work great), let's try it.

Carefully fill the balloon with water so the balloon is slightly larger than the mouth of the bottle. Tie it off. Make several water balloons just in case the first one breaks.

The glass juice bottle should have a wide mouth between 1 1 / 2 and 2 inches in diameter. If you can find an old-fashioned glass milk bottle, use it! Rinse out the bottle to remove any leftover, sticky, slimy stuff that might be at the bottom.

Here’s the challenge . . . Your job is to find a way to get the balloon into the bottle without breaking it. How are you going to do it? It’s important that you take a minute to test out some of your ideas before jumping ahead to read our solution. Keep trying! Once you’ve come up with your hypothesis, read on to find out our answer.

Start by smearing some water around the mouth of the bottle. The water acts as a lubricant.

The next few actions require some good teamwork. Set the glass bottle in front of you on a table. Make sure the water balloon and strip of paper are close by. The adult member of the team is responsible for lighting the strip of paper on fire and quickly pushing it into the bottle. As soon as the burning paper goes into the bottle, the second team member covers the mouth of the bottle with the water balloon.

The balloon will immediately start to wiggle around on the top of the bottle, the fire in the bottle will go out, and some invisible force will literally “push” the balloon into the bottle. Amazing!

Now it’s on to the next challenge. Can you get the balloon back out of the bottle? Use what you’ve learned about air and air pressure to come up with a way to get the balloon back out. Here’s a hint—try sneaking a straw alongside the balloon when you pull it out. If the outside air can get inside the bottle, the water balloon will come out.

How Does It Work

The burning piece of paper or birthday candles heat the molecules of air in the bottle and cause the molecules to move far away from each other. Some of the heated molecules actually escape out past the egg that is resting on the mouth of the bottle (that’s why the egg or water balloon wiggles on top of the bottle). When the flame goes out, the molecules of air in the bottle cool down and move closer together, making room for new air molecules. This is what scientists refer to as a partial vacuum. Normally, the air outside the bottle would come rushing in to fill the bottle. However, that darn egg is in the way! The pressure of the air molecules outside the bottle is so great that it literally “pushes” the egg into the bottle.

Take It Further

Classic Egg in the Bottle Now that you’ve mastered the technique, substituting a hard-boiled egg for the water balloon. The trick here is to find an egg that is just slightly bigger than the mouth of the bottle. The other little secret is to grease the mouth of the bottle with vegetable oil so that the egg slides right in. If you’re using the same bottle, make sure you rinse it out with water. This step cleans out the old burnt paper and helps circulate more oxygen into the bottle so the paper will burn. Have an adult light the strip of paper on fire. Carefully push the burning strip of paper into the bottle, quickly cover the mouth of the bottle with the egg, and watch what happens next.

Want to get the egg back out so you can do it again? Try this, if you dare . . . put your mouth over the mouth of the bottle and forcefully blow air into the bottle. The egg should pop back out of the bottle right into your mouth! Can it get any cooler than that?

Egg in the Bottle–Upside Down Twist

All you need for this variation is a hard-boiled egg, a glass bottle, several birthday candles, and a match. Carefully hold the wider end of the egg in one hand and slowly push two birthday candles into the narrow end of the egg. Light the candles, turn the bottle upside down, and slowly move it into position an inch above the flaming candles. Allow the flames to heat up the air inside the bottle for just a few seconds and then place the bottle down over the candles. The candles will go out and with a “Pop!” the egg will squeeze up into the bottle!

Safety Information

This activity requires the use of matches and fire. Adult supervision is required.

Real-World Application

When you fly in an airplane or drive high up into the mountains, you’ve prob- ably noticed that your ears sometimes need to “pop.” This “popping” is caused by the same change in air pressure that “pops” the egg into and out of the bottle. Air pressure decreases as altitude increases, so as you go higher, the air pressure decreases, causing the air trapped in your inner ear to push your eardrums outward. Your body tries to regain equilibrium or balance by allowing some of the air in your inner ear to escape through the Eustachian tubes. When the tubes open, the pressure releases and you feel the “pop.” On the way back down to a lower altitude the air pressure increases. The extra pressure from the outside of the ear pushes the eardrums inward. Air moves in through the Eustachian tubes, the ears “pop,” and balance is restored. Many people don’t wait for this to happen on its own because the pressure imbalance can be uncomfortable. Instead, they just plug their noses, close their mouths, and pretend like they’re blowing their noses. Because the air from their lungs has nowhere to go, it is forced into the inner ear through the Eustachian tubes, causing their ears to “pop.”

Related Experiments

Soda Can Crusher

You could use your foot, your hands, or even your head (not advised) to crush a soda can. But nothing compares to the fun you’ll […]

Incredible Egg Geode

We love to do “eggs-periments.” We’ve made naked eggs, put eggs in a bottle, folded eggs, and we’ve even shown you how to decide if an […]

Growing and Shrinking Egg

We’ve found a method to take our famous Naked Egg experiment to a new level. By dropping your Naked Eggs into Karo corn syrup or […]

This experiment answers the age-old question, “Which came first, the rubber egg or the rubber chicken?” It’s easy to make a rubber, or “naked,” egg […]

Burping Bottle

Did you know that the majority of burps are simply caused by swallowed air? It’s true! Burping is a natural human phenomenon, but it’s also […]

Colorful Convection Currents

Cool, crisp, clean mountain air has long been an important reason why people move to Colorado, USA. Unfortunately, the air in the city of Denver […]

Browse more experiments by concept:

• Foundations
• Write Paper

Search form

• Experiments
• Anthropology
• Self-Esteem
• Social Anxiety

• Kids' Science Projects >

Egg in a Bottle Experiment

The Egg in a Bottle experiment illustrates the effects of air pressure. Air pressure is manifested in different phenomena, so are its effects.

This article is a part of the guide:

• Kids' Science Projects
• Paper Towel
• Salt Water Egg
• Fruit Battery

Browse Full Outline

• 1 Kids' Science Projects
• 2 How to Conduct Science Experiments
• 3.1 Mold Bread
• 3.2 Popcorn
• 3.3 Salt Water Egg
• 3.4 Corrosiveness of Soda
• 3.5 Egg in a Bottle
• 3.6 Fruit Battery
• 4.1 Pendulum
• 4.2 Paper Towel
• 4.3 Paper Airplane
• 4.4 Charge a Light Bulb
• 4.5 Lifting Ice Cube
• 4.6 Magic Egg
• 4.7 Magic Jumping Coin
• 4.8 Invisible Ink
• 4.9 Making-a-Rainbow
• 4.10 Oil Spill
• 4.11 Balloon Rocket Car
• 4.12 Build an Electromagnet
• 4.13 Create a Heat Detector
• 4.14 Creating a Volcano
• 4.15 Home-Made Glue
• 4.16 Home-Made Stethoscope
• 4.17 Magic Balloon
• 4.18 Make a Matchbox Guitar
• 4.19 Make Your Own Slime
• 5.1 Heron’s Aeolipile
• 5.2 Make an Archimedes Screw
• 5.3 Build an Astrolabe
• 5.4 Archimedes Displacement
• 5.5 Make Heron’s Fountain
• 5.6 Create a Sundial

When it comes to weather, air pressure plays a big role too. Most of the changes in a particular place's weather are governed by air pressure.

In this experiment, you will learn more about air pressure and its behaviour by putting an egg into a bottle and taking it out again without destroying the egg.

For the Egg in a Bottle experiment, you will need the following items:

• hard boiled egg
• bottle with an opening narrower than the size of the egg
• match sticks

Get an egg and hard boil it. Make sure that you cool it down before proceeding. Seek help from an adult or at least their supervision while you cook the egg. After setting it aside to cool down, start peeling off its shell.

Now, take the newspaper and tear one page into strips. It is recommended that you perform the following procedure with the supervision of an adult. Insert the strips of newspaper into the bottle, and take your match to light it. Drop the lit matchsticks into the bottle so it burns the newspaper strips inside. Quickly take the egg and place it in front of the opening of the bottle. Watch what happens!

And to take it out? Put your mouth on the bottle opening and blow air into the mouth of the bottle. Be aware that the egg will pop right out of the bottle again when you do this!

Amazing huh? You just managed to insert a hard-boiled egg into a bottle with a narrower opening and you were even able to take it back out without destroying it! How is this possible? Air pressure is the answer! The experiment just showed you the behaviour of air pressure.

In our Egg in a Bottle experiment, after setting the newspapers on fire with the use of the lit matchsticks, the oxygen in the bottle is used up. When you placed the egg in front of the opening, the air inside creates a vacuum sucking the egg into the bottle.

The burning newspapers heats the air trapped inside the bottle causing it to expand. After a short while, the fire inside the bottle dies, thus causing the air inside to cool down then resulting in a lower pressure inside the bottle. The egg is forced into the bottle because there is a lower pressure inside, and a greater pressure outside the bottle.

Now, after turning the bottle upside down and blowing air into the bottle, the air pressure inside the bottle increases then pushing the egg back out its opening while at the same time keeping it intact!

• Psychology 101
• Flags and Countries
• Capitals and Countries

Explorable.com (Aug 13, 2011). Egg in a Bottle Experiment. Retrieved Jul 02, 2024 from Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/egg-in-a-bottle-experiment

You Are Allowed To Copy The Text

The text in this article is licensed under the Creative Commons-License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) .

This means you're free to copy, share and adapt any parts (or all) of the text in the article, as long as you give appropriate credit and provide a link/reference to this page.

That is it. You don't need our permission to copy the article; just include a link/reference back to this page. You can use it freely (with some kind of link), and we're also okay with people reprinting in publications like books, blogs, newsletters, course-material, papers, wikipedia and presentations (with clear attribution).

Related articles

sciencefairadventure.com

lessontutor.com

stevespanglerscience.com

Want to stay up to date? Follow us!

Get all these articles in 1 guide.

Want the full version to study at home, take to school or just scribble on?

Whether you are an academic novice, or you simply want to brush up your skills, this book will take your academic writing skills to the next level.

Download electronic versions: - Epub for mobiles and tablets - For Kindle here - PDF version here

Save this course for later

Don't have time for it all now? No problem, save it as a course and come back to it later.

Footer bottom

• Privacy Policy

• Subscribe to our RSS Feed
• Like us on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter