1. Technology
What word is used by Microsoft for both a Windows feature
and a separate piece of software? The Windows feature was in the news yesterday
because its exploitation by D-Squared Solutions was criticized by the FTC. Over
the past few years, use of the software has increased the animosity between
Microsoft and AOL.
ANSWER: Messenger
2. British Literature
Which play opens with one character flipping a coin and
saying the word “Heads” five times? The two protagonists sometimes play a
game called Questions. Like many characters throughout the play, they are taken
from Hamlet. Name this absurdist work by Tom Stoppard.
ANSWER: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
3. Physics (10 Seconds)
Which quantity, often represented with a lower case Greek
rho, is very small in silver and copper and very large in glass and rubber? It
is equal to resistance times cross sectional area divided by length and is
usually measured in ohm meters.
ANSWER: Resistivity (answer much match exactly)
4. Pop Culture (30 Seconds)
In alphabetical order, without correcting yourself, and
with all pauses totaling at most three seconds, name the Seven Dwarfs. Make sure
that you name them straight in alphabetical order.
ANSWER: Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and
Sneezy
5. Religion/Mythology
Which creature lived in a swamp in Lerna? It was killed
with the assistance of Iolaus, who brought a burning brand. The brand was
necessary because whenever one head of the creature was chopped off, two grew in
its place. By searing eight of the necks and burying the immortal head under a
rock, Hercules was able to complete his second labor.
ANSWER: (The) Hydra
6. United States History
Handout; ANSWERS: Top Row 3 2, Bottom Row 1 4 5
7. Algebra (60 Seconds)
Find the sum of the series that starts out with the terms
10+12+14+16 and ends with the last term 40. It has fewer than forty terms.
ANSWER: 400
8. Current Events
You can give either the full name or the acronym. This
organization was formed in 1964 in reaction to an unprovoked army attack on
farmers. It is difficult to say what has been most damaging to its image:
hijacking a plane to kidnap a senator, murdering a man whose twelve-year-old son
was dying of cancer, killing thirteen people during Alvaro Uribe’s
inauguration, or just the regular terrorism it carries out almost daily. Name
this Colombian organization which may be spreading into Peru.
ANSWER: FARC (or Fuerzas Armadas Revolucianarias de
Colombia or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)
9. World Literature
Which poet was awarded knighthood in 1915 but repudiated it
in 1919 after the Amritsar Massacre? His books of poetry include Manasi and
Gitanjali, and he made many attempts to bring together Western and Indian
literature. Name this 1913 Nobel Prize winner who lived much of his life in what
is now Bangladesh.
ANSWER: (Rabindranath) Tagore
10. Biology
Which substances, first discovered in 1935, are 20-carbon
fatty acid derivatives containing a 5-carbon ring? They can affect blood
pressure, blood clotting, ion transport, and muscle contraction. Aspirin works
by preventing the synthesis of these chemicals because they also sensitize nerve
endings.
ANSWER: Prostaglandin(s)
11. Language Arts
Though it does not appear in dictionaries, this adjective
is in a poetry collection and musical to describe the moon and, more
importantly, cats. It was coined by TS Eliot, who based it on a mispronunciation
by his niece of the words ‘Dear Little’.
ANSWER: Jellicle
12. Music
Handout; ANSWERS: (Wolfgang Amadeus) Mozart, (Sir Edward)
Elgar, (Gioacchino) Rossini, (Edvard) Grieg
13. Geometry/Trigonometry (60 Seconds)
If x is in the first quadrant and the cosine of x equals
0.62, find the value of the cosine of the quantity x over 2. Give a single
answer.
ANSWER: (0).9 (or 9/10)
14. World History
What English name is commonly given to the war from 1701 to
1713 that included the Battle of Blenheim? The main cause was the death of
Charles Hapsburg the Second. He was childless, and European powers disagreed as
to whether Philip the Fifth or Leopold the First should take his place.
ANSWER: (War of the) Spanish Succession
15. Astronomy/Earth Science/Geography
Sometimes categorized as Munich 15040 or as LFT 1385, which
star was named after the man who discovered it in 1916? It moves very quickly,
and in a few thousand years it may be the star closest to our Sun.
ANSWER: Barnard(‘s Star)
16. United States Literature
Give the first name of the 1918 title character who is left
at the altar by Larry Donovan. Her last name Shimerda, and at one point she is
fired for attending dances. Name this character created by Willa Cather.
ANSWER: (My) Antonia (Shimerda)
17. Chemistry (10 Seconds)
Which term, coming from the Greek word for impassable,
refers to expansions or contractions that take place without the loss or gain of
heat? This term begins with the letter A.
ANSWER: Adiabatic
18. Calculus/Math History (180 Seconds)
Handout; ANSWER: 5Pi/3
19. Art/Architecture
It was supposed to portray Eustache de Saint Pierre, but
the sculptor insisted on adding five other heroes. Which 1884 work portrays a
French tragedy that occurred in 1347? It was created by Auguste Rodin.
ANSWER: (The) Burghers of Calais
20. Nonfiction
This manual is divided into thirteen books. The first book
shows how trigonometry can be used to predict the paths of astronomical objects.
The second shows how spherical trigonometry is useful in cartography. The entire
work was very influential from the time it was written in the second century BC
until some of its ideas were proved wrong in the seventeenth century AD.
Identify this work by Ptolemy.
ANSWER: Almagest
21. Technology
Which corporation was founded in 1964 by an MIT professor
who was disappointed when trying to buy a new stereo? It is best known for
acoustimass speakers and noise canceling headsets.
ANSWER: Bose (Corporation)
22. British Literature
Which poem begins with the line, “The sea is calm
tonight,” and ends with the line, “Where ignorant armies clash by night”?
First published in 1867, it was written by Matthew Arnold and named after a
location on the English Channel.
ANSWER: Dover Beach
23. Physics (60 Seconds)
Let the acceleration due to gravity equal ten meters per
square second. Find the exact acceleration of an object sitting on a ramp if the
coefficient of friction is 0.6 and the ramp is tilted at a forty-five degree
angle. Make sure you include units.
ANSWER: 2 Root 2 Meters per Square Second (or meters per
second squared, do not accept meters per second) (accept -2 Root 2)
24. Pop Culture
Handout; ANSWERS: (BA)C(SP)R(OBP)W, CWR, WCR, CRW, WCR
25. Religion/Mythology
Your answer should be a thirteen-letter word. A ceremony of
this type on October 19th drew three hundred thousand people and
included a blood sample. Name this limited form of canonization that permits the
worship of a person by a Catholic. Dead people often go through this process
years before being declared a saint.
ANSWER: Beatification
26. United States History
Which Revolutionary War battle was won easily thanks to
American spies who supplied lots of hard liquor for Hessian Christmas parties?
The battle lasted fifteen minutes and was followed a week later by a surprise
attack that scattered British troops. Name this George Washington victory which
followed the crossing of the Delaware.
ANSWER: (Battle of) Trenton
27. Algebra (60 Seconds)
Not including numbers that begin with zero, how many
three-digit numbers are odd?
ANSWER: 450
28. Current Events
Which member of the US House of Representatives represents
the area that includes many of San Francisco’s tourist attractions? She
recently described President Bush’s economic record as, “Three trillion
dollars deeper in debt, three million fewer jobs.” Name the House Minority
Leader.
ANSWER: (Nancy) Pelosi
29. World Literature
Which French writer and his wife were known early in his
career as ‘the Angkor Wat robbers’? At the end of his career, he would
become a friend of Picasso and an art critic, writing Voices of Silence.
An observer of the humanistic sides of revolutionaries, he wrote The
Conquerors, The Walnut Trees of Altenburg, Man’s Hope, and Man’s
Fate.
ANSWER: (Andre) Malraux
30. Biology
Handout; ANSWERS: Top to Bottom: CEBAD
31. Language Arts
Which word is defined as of, relating to, or constituting a
verb form that represents an attitude toward a denoted act not as fact but as
something entertained in thought as possible? This mood can be contrasted with
imperative or indicative.
ANSWER: Subjunctive
32. Music
Though he studied under classical musicians, his primary
early influence was Duke Ellington. He composed a good deal of music, including
an arrangement titled Epitath which was first performed in 1989, ten years after
his death. Name the musician who recorded Tijuana Moods and Let My Children Hear
Music who played the double bass. His autobiographies were titled Beneath The
Underdog and More Than a Fake Book.
ANSWER: (Charles) Mingus
33. Geometry/Trigonometry (60 Seconds)
Give an exact answer and remember to include units. Find
the volume of a square-based pyramid if each edge is 1 centimeter long.
ANSWER: Root 2 Over 6 Cubic Centimeters
34. World History
Who was born with the name Prince Mutsuhito but changed his
name to a word meaning ‘enlightened government’? He was the first emperor to
live in Tokyo and has a shrine in his honor in the center of the city. Name this
emperor who ruled from 1867 to 1912, replacing the shogunate and thus restoring
imperial rule.
ANSWER: (Emperor) Meiji
35. Astronomy/Earth Science/Geography
It was heard over two thousand miles away and caused tidal waves as large as 120 feet high. Sunsets around the world looked different for a year afterwards. Name the volcano that erupted on August 27, 1883 in Indonesia.
ANSWER: Krakatoa
36. United States Literature
Handout; ANSWERS: 54123
37. Chemistry (10 Seconds)
Which seven-letter adjective means capable of being drawn
out without breaking, especially into wire or thread? It is usually applied to
metals.
ANSWER: Ductile
38. Calculus/Math History (10 Seconds)
In 1828, who wrote An
Essay on the Application of Mathematical Analysis to Electricity and Magnetism?
This was one of the earliest books to apply multivariable calculus to physics,
and it led to a fundamental theorem of multivariable calculus being named after
this writer.
ANSWER: (George) Green
39. Art/Architecture
Squares With Concentric Circles, Houses In Munich, and lots
of improvisations and color studies were done by which early twentieth century
painter? Considered by some people to be the founder of abstract art, he was
born in Russia and spent much of his life in Germany and France.
ANSWER: (Wassily) Kandinsky
40. Nonfiction
This 1979 book has a lot to do with artificial
intelligence. Subtitled An Eternal Golden Braid, it looks at how three very
different people set and then broke their own rules. Name this work by Douglas
Hofstadter which names in its title a mathematician, a graphical artist, and a
composer.
ANSWER: Godel, Escher, Bach
FIRST TIEBREAKER
Which author and playwright also wrote the songs “Poor
Little Rich Girl” and “Mad Dogs and Englishmen”? His autobiographies were
titled Present Indicative, Future Indefinite, and Past Conditional. Identify
this comic playwright who had many hits between the World Wars and also wrote
the serious play The Vortex.
ANSWER: (Sir Noel) Coward
He was born in Poland but moved to Palestine at the age of
twenty. During World War Two, he encouraged Jews to join the British army and,
against British orders, helped Jews escape from Poland to Palestine. Name this
Zionist who in the late 1940s became the first Prime Minister of Israel.
ANSWER: (David) Ben-Gurion (or Gruen, prompt on Gurion)
(60 Seconds)
Find the only intersection point for the system of
equations: x2+y2=32 and
x-y=8.
ANSWER: (4,-4) (or x=4 and y=-4)
According to Greek mythology, which constellation is the
body of Callisto? It contains the Big Dipper, and its name in Latin means Great
Bear.
ANSWER: Ursa Major (prompt on Ursa, Bear, or Great Bear)
What four-letter term can be used in British English to
describe a swamp or spongy soil? Here in the States, it refers to a plant of the
class Musci. It is a simple plant which usually grows on the sides of trees.
ANSWER: Moss
SECOND TIEBREAKER
For putting an image of himself on the shield of Athena,
who was imprisoned for the rest of his life? Name this sculptor who oversaw the
building of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in addition to public
buildings throughout Athens. He supervised the building of the Parthenon.
ANSWER: Phidias
Who won a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for a book
about a group of computer engineers designing a 32-bit supercomputer? In
addition to that book, The Soul of a New Machine, this author has written
House, Home Town, and Among School Children.
ANSWER: (Tracy) Kidder
Which poem begins: “By the rude bridge that arched the
flood, their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, here once the embattled farmers
stood, and fired the shot heard round the world.” This Ralph Waldo Emerson
work commemorated the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
ANSWER: Concord Hymn
(60 Seconds)
For this problem, use the approximation that the sine of 18
degrees equals 0.309, and remember to include units in your answer. Find the
area of a decagon with an apothem of 10 centimeters.
ANSWER: 309 square centimeters
What is the only alkali metal to form a normal oxide and a
nitride? The first element in a group often has some different properties than
the rest of the group, but in most periodic tables this element is the second
one in the column. Identify element number three.
ANSWER: Lithium
A controversy over the use of which computer key almost led
to a lawsuit last month against Alex Halderman? Halderman, a graduate student at
Princeton, claims that holding down this key as a CD is inserted into the drive
blocks SunnComm’s MediaMax CD-3 copy-protection software. His report caused
SunComm to lose ten million dollars.
ANSWER: Shift
THIRD TIEBREAKER
Name the sister of Ismene who tries to get her brother a proper burial. This attempt brings her into conflict with her uncle Creon. This daughter of Oedipus is the subject of a tragedy by Sophocles.
ANSWER: Antigone
Give the abbreviation or full name for the file format
created by Compuserve in 1987 which is created by the LZW compression algorithm.
Because Unisys did not extend the patent on the algorithm when it expired in
June, files in this format are now legally available in Freeware. Though it is
limited to 256 colors, this format is a popular way of storing pictures.
ANSWER: GIF (or Graphic Image File (format))
What adjective is applied to a standard scale with,
including the first and last, only eight notes? It is contrasted with a
chromatic scale, which includes all sharps, flats, and natural notes.
ANSWER: Diatonic
Who held the NHL records for goals and points before Wayne
Gretzky? He played for the Detroit Red Wings from 1946 to 1971 but did not
retire completely from playing until recently. Name the man who was teammates
with his sons during the 1970s and 1980 and is known as Mr. Hockey.
ANSWER: (Gordie) Howe
The Universal Law of Gravitation states that F=Gm1m2/d2.
Using this formula, what is the formula for Gravitational Potential Energy? It
is equal to the antiderivative of force with respect to distance.
ANSWER: (E=) -Gm1m2/d (+C)