Hell of a Question

[snoopy (imported)]

The following is purported as being an actual question given on a University

of Washington chemistry midterm, however it's probably another urban

legend... but it's good nonetheless.

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 off when it expands and heats up when it is compressed) or some

variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

I 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 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. 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 Bayana

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 still have 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.

The student received the only "A" given.