Name: _____________________________
Date: ______________________
Period #: ___________
Cracks in the Hard-Boiled Earth
Problem: How can you use the hard-boiled egg to model the Earth’s surface?
Part 1 Procedure:
1.
Place an egg on the paper towel, and lightly tap the egg in different places to produce
cracks of various lengths and sizes. Be careful not to tap too hard.
2. Dip the paintbrush in the food coloring, and trace a number of the large cracks to make
them more visible.
3. Sketch both the front and rear views of the egg in the space provided below and show
where the cracks are located.
4. Gently squeeze the egg until slight movement occurs between the pieces of the shell. You
should be able to distinguish at least three types of motion between the pieces of the shell.
Squeeze the egg in different ways to create these types of motion. Indicate on your sketch
the motion of the eggshell pieces with arrows.
Egg Sketches
Front view of egg
Rear view of egg
Analysis Questions:
1.
What does the egg represent?
2.
What do the cracks in the shell represent? What PHYSICAL layer of the Earth are these
found?
3.
Describe or draw the 3 types of motion and their effects on the pattern of cracks.
A.
B.
C.
4.
Use the following words to label the 3 types of motion above:
Convergent
Divergent
Transform
Part 2 Procedure:
1.
Using a knife, slice the egg from this activity in two (including the shell).
2. Identify which parts of the PHYSICAL layers of the Earth are the shell, the egg white and the
egg yolk.
Shell =
Egg white =
Egg yolk =
Which layers of the PHYSICAL layers of the Earth are missing?