Que sera...sera!

The following is an
actual question given
on a University of
Washington engineering
mid- term . The answer
was so “profound ” that
the Professor shared it
with colleagues , and
the sharing obviously
hasn’t ceased …
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 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 us
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 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 Teresa Banyan
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 .”
This student received
the only A.
- Unknown