Which Vinegar Dissolves an Eggshell Fastest?

Most recent answer: 10/02/2011

Q:
which type of vinegar dissolves an eggshell fastest?
- Hanna Clark (age 18)
panama city, Florida,U.S.A
A:
The active ingredient in vinegar that does the dissolving is acetic acid.  I'm guessing that at low concentrations the more acetic acid the faster the speed.   The vinegar bottle in my kitchen cupboard says 6% acetic acid on the label but you can buy it in concentrations from 3 to 12 percent.
You could do a simple experiment to check out my conjecture.  Get two cups and two eggs, put one egg into a full strength solution and put the other in a cup with equal parts vinegar and water.   See what happens.   If you find something interesting, let us know.
By the way, if you type in 'eggshells' into the search box on our home page you will find answers to previous questions on the subject.

LeeH

(published on 10/02/2011)