Chapter 3, Problem 3.8P

Inspector Sgt. Ambercromby of Scotland Yard. It is believed, although never proven, that Bonnie murdered her first husband, Lefty, by poisoning the tepid brandy they drank together on their first anniversary. Lefty was unaware she had coated her glass with an antidote before she filled both glasses with the poisoned brandy. Bonnie married her second husband, Clyde, and some years later when she had tired of him, she called him one day to tell him of her new promotion at work and to suggest that they celebrate with a glass of brandy that evening. She had the fatal end in mind for Clyde. However, Clyde suggested that instead of brandy, they celebrate with ice-cold Russian vodka and they down it Cossack style, in one gulp. She agreed and decided to follow her previously successful plan and to put the poison in the vodka and the antidote in her glass. The next day, both were found dead. Sgt. Ambercromby arrives. What are the first three questions he asks? What are two possible explanations? Based on what you learned from this chapter, what do you feel Sgt. Ambercromby suggested as the most logical explanation?

Source: Professor Flavio Marin Flores, ITESM, Monterrey, Mexico.

[Hint: View the YouTube video (www.youtube.com) made by the chemical reaction engineering students at the University of Alabama, entitled The Black Widow. You can access it from the CRE Web site (www.umich.edu/~elements/5e) using the YouTube Videos link under By Concepts on the home page.]