The following is reputed to be 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 !nternet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of en"oying it as well# $onus %uestion# !s &ell e'othermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)* +ost of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using $oyle,s -aw (gas cools when it e'pands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant. .ne student, however, wrote the following# /irst, we need to 0now how the mass of &ell is changing in time. 1o we need to 0now the rate at which souls are moving into &ell and the rate at which they are leaving, which is unli0ely. ! thin0 that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to &ell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering &ell, let,s loo0 at the different religions that e'ist in the world today. +ost of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to &ell. 1ince there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can pro"ect that all souls go to &ell. 2ith birth and death rates as they are, we can e'pect the number of souls in &ell to increase e'ponentially. 3ow, we loo0 at the rate of change of the volume in &ell because $oyle,s -aw states that in order for the temperature and pressure in &ell to stay the same, the volume of &ell has to e'pand proportionately as souls are added. This gives two possibilities# 4. !f &ell is e'panding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter &ell, then the temperature and pressure in &ell will increase until all &ell brea0s loose. 5. !f &ell is e'panding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in &ell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until &ell freezes over. 1o which is it* !f we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my /reshman year that, 6!t will be a cold day in &ell before ! sleep with you,, and ta0e into account the fact that ! slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus ! am sure that &ell is e'othermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since &ell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore e'tinct 7 leaving only &eaven, thereby proving the e'istence of a divine being. 2hich e'plains why, last night, Teresa 0ept shouting, 6.h my 8od9, The student received an A: