1. Technology
Which company was launched in 1992, then taken over by US
Robotics? US Robotics was taken over by 3Com, which in 2000 spun this branch off
as a new company again. This new company is in the process of splitting in two.
One part will produce, among other products, the Tungsten and Zire, while the
other will be in charge of the handheld Operating System.
ANSWER: Palm (accept longer answers)
2. British Literature
In which Shakespeare play is George, the Duke of Clarence,
who was the brother of two kings, imprisoned and then killed? It opens with the
quote, “Now is the winter of our discontent,” and contains the quote, “A
horse! A horse! my kingdom for a horse!”
ANSWER: (King) Richard the Third (prompt on Richard)
3. Physics (10 Seconds)
Give the three-word phrase for what results when a
restoring force is proportional to displacement. Found with small pendulum
oscillations and ideal springs, it exists when acceleration, velocity, and
displacement versus time are all sinusoidal.
ANSWER: Simple Harmonic Motion
4. Pop Culture
According to E! Online, which 1988 movie is the number one
chick flick of all time? It is about CC and Hillary, who learn to appreciate
their friendship when Hillary becomes terminally ill. Name this movie starring
Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey that featured the song Wind Beneath My Wings.
ANSWER: Beaches
5. Religion/Mythology
Which English phrase is used for Shahadah, Salah, Zakah,
Sawm, and Hajj? These translate as declaration of faith, prayer, alms, fasting,
and pilgrimage and are considered the ways that someone becomes a Moslem.
ANSWER: (The Five) Pillars (of Islam) (accept ‘Main’ in place of ‘Five’)
6. United States History
Though his only formal law training consisted of attending
a series of lectures, which Supreme Court Justice wrote a total of 519 opinions
during his career, including Marbury vs. Madison? He was the fourth Supreme
Court Chief Justice, serving for 35 years after his appointment by John Adams.
ANSWER: (John) Marshall
7. Algebra (30 Seconds)
A box contains five red, four white, and three blue
marbles. If two of them are chosen without replacement, what is the probability
that both are red? Give your answer as a fully simplified fraction.
ANSWER: 5/33
8. Current Events
Known as the city of mosques, which town is thirty miles
West of Baghdad? It has been the site of several clashes between the American
military and Iraqi civilians, including one on April 28th in which
fifteen protesters were killed. On Sunday, an American Chinook helicopter was
downed by a missile just outside this city, killing sixteen soldiers.
ANSWER: Fallujah (accept Baisa)
9. World Literature
Whose latest novel is narrated by Snowman, who tells of how
the world has suffered since the creation of a bubble-dome? This writer’s
best-known novel is told in the form of a diary and takes place in a religious
dictatorship. Name this Canadian author of Oryx and Crake and The
Handmaid’s Tale.
ANSWER: (Margaret) Atwood
10. Biology
At the end of his autobiography, who concluded that the
human species is a product of evolution, that natural environments are a
precious part of human heritage, and that philosophy and religion must take into
account these basic truths? This biologist has had a major impact in psychology
and anthropology since the 1975 publication of his book Sociobiology.
ANSWER: (Edward O) Wilson
11. Language Arts
What is defined as a word that combines with a noun to form
a phrase that typically has a supporting relation to some other word? It is one
of the eight parts of speech.
ANSWER: Preposition
12. Music
Who grew up as a neighbor of Oscar Hammerstein? He was the
composer-lyricist for A Funny Thing
Happened On The Way To The Forum, and he collaborated with Hal Prince on Sweeney
Todd. Name this lyricist for Leonard Bernstein’s West
Side Story.
ANSWER: (Stephen) Sondheim
13. Geometry/Trigonometry (30 Seconds)
Find the area of the pentagon formed by connecting the
points with the following coordinates in order: the point (0,0), the point
(0,4), the point (2,6), the point (3,4), and the point (3,0). Do not worry about
units.
ANSWER: 15 (square units)
14. World History
It was privately owned from 1877 to 1908, and that control
may have lasted longer had it not been for reports by David Casement. During
that time, the population was about cut in half, which represents a loss of
roughly ten million lives. Name this African colony whose ownership was passed
from King Leopold the Second to his nation of Belgium.
ANSWER: Congo (accept longer answers)
15. Astronomy/Earth Science/Geography
Which area’s name comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for
foreign? It was given its nickname ‘The little land behind the hills’ by
David Lloyd George, who was a native. Bordering the Irish Sea, Bristol Channel,
and Cardigan Bay, its capital is Cardiff, and it is part of Great Britain.
ANSWER: Wales
16. United States Literature
Give the first name of the woman that the following lines
are addressed to: “Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face, Thy Naiad airs have
brought me home to the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome.”
These lines were written by Edgar Allan Poe.
ANSWER: (To) Helen
17. Chemistry (10 Seconds)
What process is the opposite of deposition? Substances
which commonly go through it are Naphthalene and carbon dioxide, which is useful
when you want to keep objects cold and dry. This term refers to changing
directly from a solid to a gas.
ANSWER: Sublimation
18. Calculus/Math History (30 Seconds)
Find the x-coordinate of the lowest point on the graph of y
= x4-32x.
ANSWER: (Positive) 2
19. Art/Architecture
What was built in five years, though its dome had to be
replaced thirty years later due to an earthquake? Its architects were Isidoros
and Anthemios, but the Emperor Justinian took an active role in its design. Name
this church created in the sixth century in what is now Istanbul.
ANSWER: Hagia Sophia (prompt if half the answer is given)
20. Nonfiction
It was supposedly written by a man with the last name
Saunders who needed money to take care of his carping wife. In what eighteenth
century publication would you find the advice: “An empty bag cannot stand
upright”, “The doors of wisdom are never shut”, and “Early to bed and
early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”? It was actually written
by Benjamin Franklin.
ANSWER: Poor Richard’s Almanack
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
Stories of which God overlap with earlier stories about
Prajapati? He was born from a lotus that grew from a seed in Vishnu’s navel,
and there are several different stories about how he created the world.
ANSWER: Brahma (do not accept Brahman)
Tiebreaker #2
The virus that causes this disease enters the body through
the throat, and in the worst cases it causes destruction of the anterior horn
cells of the spinal cord. What disease paralyzed over twenty thousand Americans
in 1952 but has not paralyzed any in the last few years? Vaccines for it were
developed by Sabin and Salk.
ANSWER: Polio(myelitis)
Tiebreaker #3
Which state uses the postal abbreviation RI?
ANSWER: Rhode Island