Chemistry Problem

[Buster]

The following is an actual question given on a University of Arizona chemistry mid term, and an actual answer turned in by a student.
The answer by one student was so 'profound' that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well :

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, which is unlikely.. 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.'

[ozo]

I am so pleased to see someone still using their brain.
This wit is beautiful !
Thanks for the posting, Brother Lee.

[Buster]

What I like in answering the question, he/she did not answer the question but rather stated that one can assume that there is no hell and therefore the question is mute.

[Brisco]

And I hope this Professor isn't "Tenured" yet.

Great case of a University Professor mixing his "personal" beliefs (Religion) into his academic field of studies (chemistry) and then asking his students to give their thoughts/interpretations of said theory.

This question being on a "mid term" exam is wrong because ALL students must give their thoughts to answer for a "reward-grade" that may or may not move them forward in their studies. What if this Professor had had an Atheist amongst his students that didn't believe in either heaven or hell and refused to answer that question. Should that Atheist be penalized or rewarded for refusing to answer because his "personal" beliefs clashed with the Professors "personal" beliefs? (Me personally - a world without Atheists would be a better world - but that's my "personal" belief :p)

This question should have been brought up in a group discussion in class where students could have a choice on whether to participate or not and not on an "Exam" where all must participate.

Kudo's to the Student!!! If I was grading this Exam and all his other questions were wrong, I'd still give an A++ score for this answer alone. Clearly shows he knows how to "Think On His Own" and if he shows he's a dumbass at Chemistry, he just may well be a genious after-all because he just handed this Professor his ass on a silver platter. :D

[Buster]

Well Brisco, I guess this is where we differ. I am an Atheist and I believe the sooner the disease of belief in any "god" is cured the sooner mankind will start to live a worthwhile life. But thats just my personal belief.

[Brisco]

Well Brisco, I guess this is where we differ. I am an Atheist and I believe the sooner the disease of belief in any "god" is cured the sooner mankind will start to live a worthwhile life. But thats just my personal belief.

Of the 2-3 years I've known you, and probably being the only Member of all these boards we both post on that I have actually met in person, you being an Atheist is something I never knew about until now.

I was brought up with strong Christian(Baptist) values and do believe we have a higher authority we must answer to (God-his son Jesus) or have a chance to be with in our afterlife depending on how we live our lives here as mere mortals.

You've never pushed your Atheist beliefs onto any member here on these boards, nor have I ever pushed my religious beliefs upon others upon these boards either, of which I believe is the correct way of respecting each others way of life when it comes to religious issues. If I offended you in any way with my thoughts of what religious issue conclusions that maybe 2-3% of the American population has, then I seriously APOLOGIZE!! OK. You're still Cool in my book and would have never believed we had an Atheist amongst us. Ooops.......open mouth-insert foot.;)

Back to this Professors question placed upon a students Mid-Term exam. (although now I see it was a "Bonus" question and may/may not affect the overall grading of said mid-term exam) Would you also come to the conclusion that such a question was not appropriate being placed into an exam that covers ones knowledge about "Chemistry" since many topics in todays society are "Button Pushing" (Politics-Religion-Race-etc) issues where beliefs run rampant all across the board?

I mean, in Chemistry, everyone agrees that certain elements are compatible when mixed, certain elements are not, some can be volatile, some aren't, so on so on. What if this "Bonus" question had been about the composite molecular structure of the one and only all-mighty GOD himself? Would you have chosen to answer that question(say it wasn't a "Bonus" question but a question who's answer could have affected your overall grade) or would you have brought your beliefs to the Professor's attention over such a question??

It is still my opinion that such a question (Religious-Heaven-Hell) does not belong on a mandatory mid-term exam, "Bonus" or not, and should have only been brought up in a group discussion where said students have the option to participate or not.

That being said, all issues aside, the student was brilliant in his answer, know what I mean. And Hell, (ooops-sorry) we just may be the only 2 on internet lala-land even discussing this "Issue". If so, that'd be sooooo sad. Know what I mean.:D

[h2oskibumz]

Maybe more than one... maybe we're a whole "coven" of athiests... I'm just sayin'

Nice that you guys can agree to disagree WITHOUT getting in a huge pissing contest. That's more than congress can do and they are supposed to be LEADERS... what a joke THAT is...

[Buster]

Sorry it took so long to respond, I was picking my wife up from the airport.

First let me say Brisco that I in no way was offended by your comments. We all believe what we believe.

As far as the question on the mid-term, I do not think it was wrong of the professor to ask it. I think that all human beings believe in a hell of some kind. I don't think of it as a place so much as an existence in my mind or a dark thing that causes me pain. There is no god in control of it but rather my own conciseness. Now if he had asked a question like "what is the molecular structure of god", then I would have been offended and I would have said so loud and clear because a question like that infers that there is a god and does not allow for there not to be. Now if the question had been posed "If god exists what would his molecular structure look like?" then that would have been a thought provoking question I could sink my teeth into. As to the students answer to the question, if I were a company in need of a Chemist and I had to chose from this class, this student would be at the top of my short list. I like it when people think outside the box. Me for example. I ride motorcycles but I don't ride Harley's. Why? Because I am not a sheep. I don't follow the crowd just because the crowd is there. Same thing goes for driving a hotshot instead of a class 8. I think my own thoughts and allow others to do the same.

Thanks Brisco for giving me the opportunity to think for myself and not proclaiming me as a heathen and damned for all eternity just because I Do.

P.S. My wife is a recovering Catholic and has been a practicing Buddhist for 28 years and is also a Chemist for Shell oil. She also dabbles in Tarot and Witchcraft. I am 1/2 American Indian and was raised on a reservation with Christianity pressed upon me so I do have some practical knowledge of the subject.

[Buster]

My all time favorite bumper sticker:


THANK GOD I'M AN ATHEIST

[Brisco]

My all time favorite bumper sticker:


THANK GOD I'M AN ATHEIST

Haha..........

Pretty Funny. Do you have one on your truck? If not, I'll be glad to send one to ya.:D


First let me say Brisco that I in no way was offended by your comments. We all believe what we believe.

Thanks Brisco for giving me the opportunity to think for myself and not proclaiming me as a heathen and damned for all eternity just because I Do.

Cool............

Just let me ask a quick question about how staunch your Atheist beliefs are.

If your child is in a public elementary school (taxpayer funded) and that schools staff allowed daily prayer time (as I and others here had when we were in elementary school), what would your choice be with concerns to your childs participation in the daily prayer saying? (remember 1st-2nd period-they'd give the daily prayer over the speakers in each room after the Principals daily announcements??)

Would you just opt your child out the daily prayer or would you want the daily prayer done away with for every single child?

I know this is a huge issue when it comes to seperation of church and state, and I have for years have had a huge problem with the Atheist movement to remove prayer from every single entity in our daily lives. Our country was built on religious freedoms, not freedom from all religion that the Atheist movement agenda has been all about for the last few years.

I highly respect the Atheist that does not mind the 175 students in his local elementary school have their prayer if they wish while his 1 child sits out of the prayer due to their wishes. (Parent/Child) I have a huge problem with the Atheist that does not want the other 175 students to have prayer whatsoever due to his/hers and their childs Atheist beliefs.

The "Heathen" and "Damned for all Eternity" reputation comes from the few that push their agenda to a Public Spotlight. Too many stories out there are results of raging "Atheists" that want God and Prayer eliminated from the human race period. Not enough "Positive" stories about Atheism and their beliefs due to these select few that spotlight every chance they get. And when 98-99% of Americans do have some sort of religious belief/following in their life, it's easy to see why Atheism gets the Bad Rap every time.

Let's not go to deep, know what I mean.;)

[Buster]

The schools I grew up in did not have daily prayer. We had the pledge of allegiance though. I remember the Jehovah's Witness kids opting out. It was no problem for me. I always respected them for standing by there beliefs.

You and I separate at the idea of organized prayer in any publicly funded place. I do believe that the separation of church and state should be complete. No tax exempions, no public money's of any kind. Do we have a prayer for every differing religion? No, just Christians. That seems as though the government is supporting Christianity only. Our country was built on freedom for all to worship as they see fit, not to be forced to worship what they don't believe. Remember there are more Buddhists on this earth than there are Christians so does that mean we should only have Buddhist prayers? What I would agree to would be a moment of reflection. If a person wants to pray to there god that would be there choice.
As far as weather or not I would want my child forced to participle, I would not but, I did not force my opinions on the subject on my daughter. She made those choices for herself. She took bible study as an elective because she was curios and I supported her for that.

I'm not going to get to deep into this because this is not the place but I am going to answer your questions. Yes I believe that religion is a curse on mankind and I would like to see all people come to the same conclusion. You say that "98-99% of Americans do have religion. I don't believe that number is anywhere near that high. The difference between Atheists and the devotedly religious are That Atheists for the most part do not try to force there beliefs on others (Muslims, Jehovah's witness's, Mormons etc.). When was the last time you saw an Atheist go door to door trying To "sell" there beliefs?

Your choices are your own and so are mine. Remember that just because I do not believe in god does not make me a bad person anymore than you believing in god makes you a good one! Its our actions that count. Respectfully, Lee

[Buster]

I do not have that bumper sticker on my truck. Its hard enough to stay loaded as it is!!!