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Shawna Kennedy AN EGGY QUESTION And the question is (drum roll please), would it be possible to hard boil and egg on top of the (or one of the, just to make everyone happy) mountain in the world Mount Everest? First of all, assuming you were brave (er, uh, stupid) enough to take on the challenge of conquering EVEREST ( peaking at around 29,035 ft or 8,859 m, if you prefer), and had, oh, say about 65,000 bucks to spare, and you just happened to be carrying along equipment to boil the egg that you have been so carefully hauling up the mountain, then maybe, just maybe, (assuming you survive) you could take on a second challenge--- to hard boil that egg! (Before attempting the challenge, I just want to fill you in that as on December 31, 2000 the number of climbers summiting Everest reached 1314, and the number of deaths on the mountain reached 167. For those of us challenged in the math department, that’s right around 13%--- you wouldn’t want to fall in that 13%, would you? Don’t say I didn’t warn you…) Now, if you feel that you are not very educated in terms of what an egg is composed of, here is just some info to help you out--- in this case we will discuss the hen egg. Shell The shell accounts for about 9 to l2% of its total weight depending on egg size. It comprises about 94% calcium carbonate with small amounts of magnesium carbonate, calcium phosphate and other organic matter including protein. Shell strength is influenced by two factors. Firstly, the hen's diet, particularly its calcium, phosphorus, manganese and vitamin D intake. Secondly, egg size, which increases as the hen ages while the mass of shell material that covers cover it stays fixed. Hence the shell is thinner on larger eggs. Between seven- and seventeen-thousand tiny pores are distributed over the shell surface. As the egg ages, moisture and carbon dioxide diffuses out, and air diffuses in through these causing the air cell to grow and the net mass to decrease.
Approximate Word count = 1310
Approximate Pages = 5.2
(250 words per page double spaced)
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