Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Why did the egg shells have different results?
I also tried using quail eggs, why did it barely have food coloring inside the shell?




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Leave this to help the Experts:
The activity can be viewed at: How Does a Chick Breathe Inside Its Shell?

All shells have pores that let oxygen in and help chicken breathe and develop.

As the developing chick grows it uses the oxygen from the air sack and replaces it with carbon dioxide. The tiny pores in the shell allow the carbon dioxide to escape and fresh air to get in.

How does a chick breathe inside its shell ?

As the egg develops, there are two membranes of the egg shell. The eggs are laid by the chicken and they are warmer than air around them as material inside them shrinks a little. A it shrinks to divide two membranes apart, so by this division there are air pockets created between these two membranes. These air pockets are filled with air which contains oxygen. The chicken inside the egg breathes through them. The egg shell around the developing chicken has hundreds of pores inside it. These pores’ surface allows the exchange of air as there is already oxygen present inside air packets. The chick breathes in oxygen and breathes out the carbon dioxide, which is pushed through the first and second membrane, out of the egg shell, through that porous surface. This is how the respiratory system of a chick inside an egg works.