Introductory Chemistry was taught at
Duke University for many years by
professor Bonk. One year, two guys
took the class and did pretty well
on all the quizzes and mid-terms--so
much so that going into the final,
they each had a solid A. These two
friends were so confident going into
the final that the weekend before
finals week, despite the Chemistry
final being on Monday, they decided
to go to the Uuniversity of Virginina
to party with some friends.
They did this and had a great time.
However, with their hangovers and
tiredness, they overslept all day
Sunday and didn't make it back to
Duke until early Monday morning.
Rather than taking the final then,
they found professor Bonk after the
final and explained to him how they
missed the final. They told him they
went up to the University of Virgina
for the weekend and had planned to
come back in time to study, but they
had a flat tire on the way back and
didn't have a spare. They couldn't
fix it for a long time and were
late getting back to campus.
Bonk thought this over and agreed
that they could take the final the
following day. The two guys, elated
and relieved, studied that night and
went in the next day at the time that
Bonk had told them. He placed them
in separate rooms and handed each of
them a test booklet. He told them to
begin.
They looked at the first problem
which was something simple about
molarity and solutions; it was worth
5 points. "Cool," they thought, "this
is going to be an easy final". They
then turned the page. They were
unprepared, however, for what they
saw on it. The question contained
only two words: (95 points) Which
tire?