Need help settling a scientific trivia question

[Generic Brad]

I must have been sick the day they covered chicken eggs in high school. Tonight at dinner our daughter was discussing her most recent school lesson on cells. My wife stunned both of us by stating that the unfertilized chicken eggs we buy in the grocery stores are single, enormous cells.

I understand that fertilization of an egg at the microscopic level begins the cellular reproduction process and culminates into a chick. But if a chicken egg does not get fertilized, does it remain one single cell and swell into one solitary gigantic big ass chicken egg cell?

Yeah. I know I could have looked this up on the internet myself. But this just felt like a job for the Lounge.

[rug]

1. Your tax dollars at work:

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/mole00/mole00128.htm

[Generic Brad]

3. Thanks for not pointing me to Wikepedia

:)

[Bjornsdotter]

2. If it doesn't get fertilized

...it ends up as an omelet.

Cheers