There is more than one way to answer a question
This came to me via my National Council for Hypnotherapy journal a few years ago and I recently saw it doing the rounds on an internet site so if you haven’t read it already it should bring a you smile.
The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington Chemistry midterm. The answer was so profound that the professor shared it with colleagues, which is why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.
Bonus question: Is hell exothermic or endothermic. Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle’s Law or some variant.
One student, however, wrote the following:
” First, we need to know how the mass of hell is changing with time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets into hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.
As for how many souls are entering hell, let’s look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in hell to increase exponentially.
Now, we look at the rate of change of volume in hell. Because Boyle’s Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in hell to stay the same, the volume of hell has to expand as souls are added. This gives two possibilities:
1) If hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter hell, then the temperature and pressure in hell will increase until all hell breaks loose.
2) Of course, if hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until hell freezes over.
So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Ms. Teresa Banyan during my Freshman year-”…that it will be a cold day in hell before I sleep with you.”- and take into account that I have still not succeeded in having sexual relations with her, then #2 cannot be true; and thus I am sure that hell is exothermic and will not freeze.”
This student received the only ‘A’ given.