chemistry question.............

[Bammx2]

> The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington
>
> chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so "profound" that
> the
>
> professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is why we
> now
>
> have it to read.
>
>
>
> 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 still have not succeeded in having an
> affair
>
> with her, then #2 above cannot be true, thus I am sure that Hell is
>
> exothermic and will not freeze over."
>
> > >
>
> This student received the only "A."
>
>
>
>

 

[AdrenalineJunky]

That's great!!!

 

[Flatlander]

Brilliant answer. Absolutely.

 

[KenpoTex]

Nice!

 

[Feisty Mouse]

I've gotten this a few times over e-mail. It's still one of my favorites! If only I had that kind of savoir-faire when taking an exam - rather than frantically trying to answer as much as I could.

 

[Rich Parsons]

I've gotten this a few times over e-mail. It's still one of my favorites! If only I had that kind of savoir-faire when taking an exam - rather than frantically trying to answer as much as I could.

I had a philosphy test, and questions six was Why? I had run out of time and was just thinking about it when the instructor called 1 minute. I wrote Because!

SOmeone else wrote Why Note, and othere wrote pages.

Because was the "A" answer, and Why Not was the "B-" answer, as that was answering a question with a question. I got lucky by running out of time.

 

[Feisty Mouse]

Rich - :boing2: That's a great story! Of course, I might have thought of that - or been a person writing a 10-page answer, and flipping out when I realized (after the test) that the best answer was a single word.


hee hee hee hee

 

[Cryozombie]

My boss likes to ask stupid questions like that in interviews.

His two favorites are:

#1 Why are manhole covers round?

and

#2 How many bolts in a battleship?

My answer to #1 was "Because manholes are round. It would be stupid to put a square cover on them."

And my answer to #2 was "As many as it takes to stop a battleship from falling apart."

All I can say is I work there...

 

[shesulsa]

Reminds me of an old accounting joke:

A Controller is interviewing the three final candidates for an accounting position in his department.

The first of the last three candidates is a mathmatics major with a sub in accounting. After various and sundry queries, the controller asks his final question, "What's two plus two?" The candidate launched into a spiel suggesting that 2+2 does not, in fact, equal 4 but 3.9 repeating and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

The controller thanked the candidate and said he'd call with his decision in a few days.

The second of the last three candidates is a philosophy major with a sub in accounting. After various and sundry queries, the controller asks his final question, "What's two plus two?" The candidate began to gesticulatingly assert the esoteric meanings of the phrase, 'two plus two.'

The controller thanked the candidate and said he'd call with his decision in a few days.

The third and final candidate held no degree, but was a certified public accountant - aging and complete with green eyeshade and arm garters. Again, after various and sundry queries, the controller asks his final litmus question, "What's two plus two?" The CPA removed his glasses, leaned across the table with a sly grin and asked, "What do you want it to be?"

The controller hired him on the spot.

 

[michaeledward]

My boss likes to ask stupid questions like that in interviews.

His two favorites are:

#1 Why are manhole covers round?

and

#2 How many bolts in a battleship?

My answer to #1 was "Because manholes are round. It would be stupid to put a square cover on them."

And my answer to #2 was "As many as it takes to stop a battleship from falling apart."

All I can say is I work there...

Microsoft uses a 'stress interview' (or so I hear), which intentionally puts candidates in difficult situations to see how they will react. I believe these questions are from a collection of questions used for these 'stress interviews'.

Both of your answers are pretty good.

A round manhole cover can not fall through the manhole onto someone working. The same is true for a equilateral triangular manhole / manhole cover. If you consider a square manhole / manhole cover you can see that the cover can fit through the hole, which would be a bad thing.

Mike

 

[Ping898]

Someone at work told me for an interview once the question they got was:

How many golf balls does it take to fill a bathtub?

1 - you stick it in the drain and turn on the water


This of course assumes you have the right kind of drain for a galf ball to get stuck in...

All goes back to those stress interviews and trying to see how you think.