Here's one that you may wish to share with your appropriate colleagues. It
is a pretty good demonstration of the critical thinking process.
Bob Lamb   ...deep in the heart of Texas

Subject: Hot or Cold
> >
> >> The following is an actual question given on a University of
Washington, Seattle Chemistry midterm:
> >>
> >> "Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?
> >> Support your answer with proof."
> >>
> >> Most of the students wrote proof 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:
> >>
> >> 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'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 people and
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 must 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 Ms. Therese Banyan during my
> >> freshman year, that "It will be a cold night in Hell before I sleep
with
> >> you," and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in
> >> having sexual relations with Ms. Banyan, then, #2 cannot be true, and
> >> thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> This student got the only A.