1. Technology
According to its web site, what is a way of life, a service, and a DVR? It makes a telephone call every day to get television programming information and then uses this information to record your favorite shows.
ANSWER: TiVo
2. British Literature
Give the first and last name of the 1861 title character obsessed with a blond girl named Eppie. Falsely accused of robbery, he moves to Raveloe and becomes a weaver. Name this character created by George Eliot.
ANSWER: Silas Marner (prompt on Silas or Marner)
3. Physics (10 Seconds)
Which phenomenon can be explained using Huygens’
Principle? It can be predicted quantitatively using Snell’s Law. Used by
eyeglasses and some telescopes, it is the bending of light as it passes from one
medium into another.
ANSWER: Refraction (accept different forms of the word but not Diffraction)
4. Pop Culture
He was drafted twice by Major League Baseball teams, but
that is less impressive than the fact that he was traded for eight draft picks
in the NFL. Three years later, he was traded for only two draft picks. Name this
University of Texas Running Back who played for the New Orleans Saints before
moving to the Miami Dolphins.
ANSWER: (Ricky) Williams
5. Religion/Mythology
In which hall is Schrimnir cooked every morning, eaten
every day, and grown whole again every evening? Only people who have died
bravely in battle are allowed to enter this joyful home of Odin.
ANSWER: Valhalla
6. United States History
Who oversaw mergers between the New York Central and
Pennsylvania Railroads, between Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston
Electric Company, and between the Federal Steel and Carnegie Steel Companies? He
headed one of the largest banking houses in the world one hundred years ago.
ANSWER: (John Pierpont) Morgan
7. Algebra (30 Seconds)
The variables x and y vary inversely. When x equals 6, y
equals 23. What will y equal when x equals 23?
ANSWER: 6
8. Current Events
His real first name is Joseph, but nobody ever uses it. His
nickname is a mispronunciation of his middle name Graham. Name this politician
who has served as a Governor’s Chief of Staff, State Assemblyman, State
Controller, and Lieutenant Governor. He was elected Governor in 1998 and
reelected in 2002. His lack of passion, tax increases, budget deficit, and
energy crisis, however, led to the California Recall.
ANSWER: (Gray) Davis (prompt on Gray)
9. World Literature
Which character had a father whose job it was to behead
women? She takes a risk of becoming his next victim but avoids death by telling
fascinating stories to the king. Identify this character from The Thousand
and One Arabian Nights.
ANSWER: Scheherazade
10. Biology
What hollow tube consists of two layers of smooth muscle?
The circular muscles contract to exert pressure and the longitudinal muscles
contract to lessen pressure during peristalsis. This allows food to travel from
your mouth to your stomach.
ANSWER: Esophagus
11. Language Arts
As a verb, it means to express in words. In science, it
often refers to a condition of existence. In government, it refers to one of the
constituent units of a nation with a federal government. Identify this
five-letter word beginning with S.
ANSWER: State
12. Music
Which Italian term refers to an accented tone or chord? It
sometimes is referred to in sheet music with the letters sf.
ANSWER: Sforzando (accept Sforzato)
13. Geometry/Trigonometry (30 Seconds)
What is the radius of a sphere that has a surface area of
pi square meters?
ANSWER: (0).5 meter(s) (or ½ meter(s) or 50 centimeters)
14. World History
Who was killed by natives of the island of Mactan in
knee-deep water in 1521? His voyage was completed by Juan Sebastian del Cano.
This explorer gave up his Portuguese identity in order to sail for Spain, and
because of a previous Eastward journey to The Philippines is considered the
first man to sail around the Earth.
ANSWER: (Ferdinand) Magellan (or Magalhaes)
15. Astronomy/Earth Science/Geography
Which moon, discovered in 1978, contains a lot of ice? It
is very close to its planet and is roughly half its size. Name the only moon of
Pluto.
ANSWER: Charon
16. United States Literature
Whose novel-writing career started after traveling with her mother to China in 1987? Her best-known work, about the relationships between Chinese mothers and their American daughters, is The Joy Luck Club.
ANSWER: (Amy) Tan
17. Chemistry (10 Seconds)
What term refers to the branch of chemistry that applies
the laws of definite proportions? Beginning with the letter S, it often is
associated with balancing equations.
ANSWER: Stoichiometry
18. Calculus/Math History (30 Seconds)
For a particular cylinder, its height is always equal to
its radius. Giving your answer in cubic centimeters per second, what is the rate
of change of the volume if the radius is ten centimeters and growing at a rate
of two centimeters per second?
ANSWER: 600Pi (Cubic Centimeters Per Second)
19. Art/Architecture
Which art movement took its name from a 1925 exposition? Though it was in
graphical, industrial, and interior design, its most lasting impression was in
architecture. Its influence can be found in many New York City and Miami Beach
buildings from the 1930s. Name this movement often associated with crisp
geometrical patterns.
ANSWER: (Art) Deco
20. Nonfiction
Which book consists of the title character telling about
the death of Socrates to a group of Pythagoreans? There are recollections of
some of Socrates’ arguments for immortality. Name this work by Plato.
ANSWER: Phaedo
NOTE: These questions are for breaking ties. If you need to replace a question, use the corresponding question from the Replacement packet. In a tiebreaker, the first correct answer wins the match.
Tiebreaker #1
Who was the first person to apply the term ‘complex’ to
psychiatric problems? He explained his ideas to laypeople in the book Man and
His Symbols, and he is also the author of The Archetypes and the
Collective Unconscious.
ANSWER: (Carl Gustav) Jung
Tiebreaker #2
They were both given 1600 acres of land and were eventually
elected as territory governors. Name the two men who built Fort Clatsop at the
mouth of the Columbia River in 1805. Following President Thomas Jefferson’s
instructions, they traveled to the Pacific Ocean largely by following the
Missouri River.
ANSWER: (Meriwether) Lewis and (William) Clark (either order)
Tiebreaker #3
Which state uses the postal abbreviation AL?
ANSWER: Alabama