The Chemistry Exam
The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington
chemistry midterm:
"Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?
Support your answer with a proof."
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas
cools off when it expands and heats up when it is compressed) or some
variant. One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So, we
need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate they
are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to
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. Since
there are more than one of these religions and since people do not belong
to
more than one religion, we can project that all people and all souls 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
the 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. Therese Banyan during my
Freshman year "That it will be a cold night in Hell before I sleep with
you,"
and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in having
sexual relations with her, then: (2) cannot be true, and thus I am sure
that
Hell is exothermic.
The student got the only A.