The Ultimate Physics Exam The following concerns a question in a physics exam at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark several decades ago... The simple question was: "Describe how to determine the height of a skyscraper with a barometer." To which one student replied: "You tie a long piece of string to the neck of the barometer, then lower the barometer from the roof of the skyscraper to the ground. The length of the string plus the length of the barometer will equal the height of the building." This highly original answer so incensed the examiner that the student was failed.