How to answer a test question

[mrmeaner]

I apologize if this has already been posted but I didn't see it.

The following is an actual question given on a chemistry mid-term.

The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor decided

to share it.

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic

(absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law

(gas cools when it expands and heats 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 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 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. Most of these religions state

that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell.

Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not

belong to more than one religion, we can project that 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 proportionately 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. 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 Teresa during my Freshman year

that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take

into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two

must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already

frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen

over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is

therefore, extinct......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the

existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept

shouting "Oh my God."

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A"

[JCicco345]

That's awesome.

[emt-b_wa]

right on

[iMac]

I should be the last one to admit it was funny, but it was funny.

[nick46928]

I wish I had had that prof when I was in college. Anytime I wrote something on a test when I didn't know the answer that was even close to being like that he just gave me an F and called me a smarta**.

[CoyoteMedic]

I've seen that one before, its just been a while, and its always a classic.

[Eydawn]

HAHA! That was great...

Now let's see if my stats prof will buy a similar answer on the next essay exam....

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

[bull_8]

He / she definitely deserves an A for the effort and thought put into that answer