Questions from the 1999-2000 student/faculty match, won for the second year in a row by the students.
1. Tossup Literature/Mythology
What mythological King of Corinth chained up Death until Ares came to Death's aid? When death did take him, this character told his wife not to bury his body or make sacrifices. He was allowed to go back to Earth to punish her and was thus allowed to live to old age. For cheating Death, he has been sentenced to an eternity of fruitless labor.
Sisyphus
Bonus - Four Parts
Identify the following from Hindu mythology:
A. His avatars have included Rama and Krishna
B. This god is often depicted with a blue neck and a third eye or can be represented by a bull
C. This elephant-headed god is considered the remover of obstacles
D. This class of titans was the enemy of gods and men
A. Vishnu B. Shiva C. Ganesha D. Asura or Ahura
2. Tossup Mathematics/Algebra (30 Seconds)
Find the quadratic function in the form y=ax squared plus bx plus c that contains the points (1,1), (2,0), and (4,4)
y=x squared minus 4x plus 4
Bonus - Four Parts
Given some information, name the type of conic section. Do not worry about degeneracies:
A. The Cartesian equation x squared plus 4xy plus 4y squared plus 10x plus 8y minus twenty equals zero
B. The polar equation r equals one divided by the quantity one plus the cosine of theta
C. Foci at (1,0) and (5,0) and a point at (3,3)
D. Has an eccentricity of two
A. Parabola B. Parabola C. Ellipse D. Hyperbola
3. Tossup Science/Biology
What disease, also called epidemic parotitis, is caused by a virus and characterized by painful swelling in front of and below the ears? Children are commonly immunized for it at the same time as measles and rubella.
Mumps
Bonus - Four Parts
Answer the following questions about current vaccines:
A. What type of hepatitis are babies supposed to be immunized against?
B. Name any of the three diseases protected against by the DTaP vaccine. Use the scientific name.
C. The vaccination known as IPV protects against which disease? Doctors recently recommended getting rid of the oral vaccine for this disease.
D. What is the common name for the disease controlled by the varicella vaccine?
A. Hepatitis B B. Diphtheria, Tetanus, or Pertussis C. Polio D. Chickenpox
4. Tossup Social Studies/Geography
Important people in the history of which city include Jan Zelivsky, Jan Zizka, and Jan Hus? It contains the Church of St. George, St. Vitus' Cathedral, Staromestske Square, and the Charles Bridge, and it is located in Bohemia.
Prague
Bonus - Four Parts
Identify these Italian cities
A. There are four cities in Italy with populations over one million. Which of these four is close to Mount Vesuvius?
B. What was the chief Greek city on Sicily? It lies on the east coast and shares its name with a city in New York.
C. What city near Venice was the temporary home of both Dante and Galileo?
D. What city in Northwestern Italy was the birthplace of Christopher Columbus?
A. Naples B. Syracuse C. Padua D. Genoa
5. Tossup Fine Arts/Fine and Applied Arts
What is the Welsh name shared by two American locations? It is disputed whether the name came from the Welsh word for brow or a famous Welsh poet. They are located in Scottsdale, Arizona and Spring Green, Wisconsin and were the homes and workplaces of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Taliesin
Bonus - Four Parts
Identify the works of I.M. Pei:
A. Pei designed a glass pyramid for which museum's courtyard?
B. In 1959, Pei worked on a project for which Chicago neighborhood?
C. Pei did not design the John Hancock Tower in Chicago but did design the one in which city?
D. In 1978, Pei designed a building for a major art gallery in what city?
A. Louvre B. Hyde Park C. Boston D. Washington, DC
6. Tossup Miscellaneous/Movies
What was the first movie released in stereophonic sound? Because most theatres were not ready for it in 1940, it was not given a true national release until its fiftieth anniversary in 1990. It featured the music of Leopold Stowkowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra and the animation of Disney.
Fantasia
Bonus - Four Parts
Identify these films from 1939. It was such a good year that we don't even need to include Gone With The Wind:
A. Charles Laughton starred as Quasimodo
B. Bert Lahr, Ray Bolger, and Jack Haley were immortalized in this movie, but a sixteen-year-old stole the show
C. Thirty-one-year-old James Stewart was barely old enough constitutionally to play the star in this film
D. In this Western, John Ford made a star out of John Wayne
A. The Hunchback of Notre Dame B. The Wizard of Oz C. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
D. Stagecoach
7. Tossup Social Studies/World History
Which queen used her thirty-six year reign to restore order, reform the Catholic church, and support education in her country? She was the grandmother of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the leader of the Spanish Inquisition but is best remembered around here for buying and sponsoring three ships.
Isabella
Bonus - Three Parts
Identify these relatives of Charlemagne:
A. His paternal grandfather
B. His father
C. His paternal uncle
A. Charles Martel B. Pepin III or Pepin the Short C. Carloman
8. Tossup Science/Physics
The existence of which particle was first proposed in 1930 by Pauli? It is unaffected by strong or electromagnetic forces and is therefore very good at penetrating through matter. For establishing the existence of one of the three types of this particle, the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Steinberger, Lederman, and Schwartz.
Neutrino
Bonus - Four Parts
Answer the following questions about a circuit with three resistors connected in parallel. The resistors are two ohms, four ohms, and eight ohms, and the battery is sixteen volts.
A. What is the total resistance?
B. What is the current through the two ohm resistor?
C. What is the current through the battery?
D. What is the power of the eight ohm resistor?
A. 8/7 or 1 1/7 ohms B. 8 amperes C. 14 amperes D. 32 watts
9. Tossup Mathematics (10 seconds)
What whole numbers are always triangular and always have the sum of the reciprocals of their divisors add up to two? It is not known whether there are any odd examples, and number theory often links them with Mersenne numbers. The four lowest such numbers are six, twenty-eight, four hundred ninety-six, and eight thousand one hundred twenty-eight. In these numbers, all of the factors of the number other than the number itself add up to that number.
Perfect Numbers
Bonus - Four Parts
Give each of the following rounded to the nearest thousandth
A. The square root of 2
B. The common log of 2
C. The natural log of 2
D. Pi over 2
A. 1.414 B. 0.301 C. 0.693 D. 1.571
10. Tossup Literature
You must get both parts of the answer correct. What pair of medals was established by Frederic Melcher in 1922 and 1938? One is named after an 18th century publisher, the other after a 19th century illustrator. The former has been won by Madeleine L'Engle, Scott O'Dell, and Hugh Lofting, while the latter has been won by David Macaulay and Maurice Sendak. These medals are awarded by the American Library Association to the most distinguished American children's book and the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Newberry and Caldecott Medals
Bonus - Four Parts
Given a line, name the Dr. Seuss story it comes from:
A. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.
B. And that plain little Mack did a plain little thing. He burped! And his burp shook the throne of the king!
C. Just sit on it softly. You're gentle and kind. Come, be a good fellow. I know you won't mind.
D. Your mountain is waiting. So get on your way!
A. The Lorax B. Yertle the Turtle C. Horton Hatches the Egg D. Oh, the Places You'll Go
11. Tossup Literature/British Literature
What British writer had a great skill at aphorisms, including: "Clear your mind of cant," "Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures," and "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel"? He was a well-known critic and lexicographer in the eighteenth century and the subject of a famous biography by James Boswell.
Samuel Johnson
11. Bonus - Four Parts
Finish these quotations from Shakespeare:
A. A little more than kin, and
B. I understand a fury in your words, but
C. Shall I compare thee to a
D. My mistress' eyes are
A. less than kind B. not the words C. summer's day D. nothing like the sun
12. Tossup Mathematics/Calculus (30 Seconds)
Evaluate the definite integral from 1 to e squared of dx over 2x
1
Bonus - Four Parts
In some schools this wouldn't be considered calculus, but it is here. Given a radian measure, find the value of the tangent function in simplified radical form:
A. 11pi/6
B. Negative 4pi/3
C. 19pi/3
D. Negative 15pi/4
A. Negative Root 3 Over 3 B. Negative Root 3 C. Root 3 D. One
13. Tossup Science
What unit is equivalent to a weber per square meter? It is the most common unit of magnetic flux density and is named after a Serb-American who invented a widely used coil that is also named after him.
Tesla
Bonus - Four Parts
Given a unit, tell what type of quantity it measures:
A. Slug
B. Fermi
C. Millibar
D. Maxwell
A. Mass B. Distance or Length C. Pressure D. Magnetic flux
14. Tossup Social Studies/American History
Which Civil War battle, also called the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, resulted in 10,000 casualties on each side? It started with a surprise attack by General A.S. Johnston against General Grant and ended with Grant recovering lost ground and Johnston mortally wounded. It took place in April, 1862 in southwestern Tennessee.
Shiloh
Bonus - Four Parts
Given some conflicts in alphabetical order, place them in chronological order
A. Bunker Hill, Trenton, Yorktown
B. Alamo, Blackhawk War, Little Bighorn
C. Antietam, Fort Sumter, Vicksburg
D. Gallipoli, First Battle of the Marne, Verdun
A. Bunker Hill, Trenton, Yorktown B. Blackhawk War, Alamo, Little Bighorn
C. Fort Sumter, Antietam, Vicksburg D. Marne, Gallipoli, Verdun
15. Tossup Language Arts
What suffix is added to the following words to make them plural: Carcinoma, Dogma, Lemma, Miasma, Schema.
TA
Bonus - Five Parts
There are six one-syllable nouns in the English language which begin and end with consonant sounds that are pluralized by changing the vowel sound in the middle. One such word is foot, which becomes feet. Give the other five in their plural forms.
Geese, Lice, Men, Mice, Teeth (in any order)
16. Tossup Miscellaneous/Sports
What female athlete from East St. Louis was chosen by Sports Illustrated as Illinois' greatest sports figure from the twentieth century? She won six Olympic medals, including three gold medals, and set the heptathlon world record in 1988. She was the sister-in-law of Florence Griffith-Joyner.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Bonus - Four Parts
These men were considered among the greatest athletes of the twentieth century. Identify them based on their weaknesses:
A. He was pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline Bag It. He wore Adidas as a youth and once covered himself with an American flag to avoid being pictured with a Reebok logo.
B. To make money, he ran races against horses and dogs. He became a smoker and died of lung cancer.
C. He threw his gold medal off a bridge and was once stripped of his title
D. He was once accused of throwing a model over a balcony and was convicted of smashing the window of his wife's car
A. Michael Jordan B. Jesse Owens C. Muhammad Ali D. Jim Brown
17. Tossup Social Studies/Philosophy
Book I denies the existence of innate ideas, Book II discusses experience, Book III discusses language, and Book IV discusses knowledge. Name this major empiricist work from 1690 by John Locke.
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Bonus - Four Parts
Identify the century in which the following philosophical works were written.
A. Novum Organum
B. Critique of Pure Reason
C. Meditations on the First Philosophy
D. Being and Nothingness
A. 17th or 1600s B. 18th or 1700s C. 17th or 1600s D. 20th or 1900s
18. Tossup Science/Chemistry
What element was discovered by Johan August Arfvedson in Sweden in 1817? Compounds including this element can be used for battery anodes, high strength ceramics, high-temperature lubricants, and treatments for manic depressive disorders. This alkali metal is the lightest of the solid elements.
Lithium
Bonus - Five Parts
Given a description, tell which element is being combined with oxygen:
A. Quicklime used for water purification
B. Occurs when lightning strikes
C. Occurs in volcanic gases
D. Can be used as bleach or antiseptic
E. A white solid used in the manufacture of high-temperature refractory bricks, electrical and thermal insulators, cements, fertilizer, rubber, and plastics
A. Calcium B. Nitrogen C. Sulfur D. Hydrogen E. Magnesium
19. Tossup Mathematics/Probability (30 Seconds)
If you toss a fair coin four times, what is the probability that the first two tosses will have one head and the last two tosses will both be heads?
One Eighth
Bonus - Four Parts
Given a certain number of coin flips, find the probability of getting at least two heads. Express your answer as a simplified fraction:
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
A. 1/4 B. 1/2 C. 11/16 D. 13/16
20. Tossup Literature/American Literature
Which author wrote the sentence, "It had already begun on that day when he first wrote his age in two ciphers and his cousin McCaslin brought him for the first time to the camp, the big woods, to earn for himself from the wilderness the name and state of hunter provided he in his turn were humble and enduring enough." It appears in The Bear, which is a chapter from the novel Go Down, Moses.
William Faulkner
Bonus - Four Parts
Given a line from Walt Whitman, identify the poem:
A. The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose
B. Our fearful trip is done, The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won
C. For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you
D. In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash'd palings, Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green
A. Song of the Open Road B. O Captain! My Captain! C. Song of Myself D. When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd
21. Tossup Literature/American Literature
What poem consists of five sections which have several vignettes linked by the search for the Holy Grail? It was published in 1922 after being shortened based on the advice of Ezra Pound. Name this work by T.S. Eliot.
The Waste Land
Bonus - Four Parts
Given a list of poetry collections, name the twentieth century American poet:
A. To Bedlam and Part Way Back, Live or Die, and The Awful Rowing Toward God
B. Life Studies, For the Union Dead, and Notebook
C. Diving into the Wreck, A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far, and The Fact of a Doorframe
D. Exultations, Umbra, and The Pisan Cantos
A. Anne Sexton
B. Robert Lowell
C. Adrienne Rich
D. Ezra Pound
22. Tossup Mathematics/Geometry (30 Seconds)
If you use a polygon with n sides to make a prism, what formula gives you the number of edges of the prism? Each edge is a segment.
3n
Bonus - Four Parts
Given a four-dimensional hypercube, how many of each of the following does it have?
A. Point Vertices
B. Segment Edges
C. Square Sides
D. Cube Blocks--Hint: it has more than two
A. 16 B. 32 C. 24 D. 8
23. Tossup Science/Chemistry
Who first used the term fission to describe the appearance of barium in neutron-bombarded uranium and was in the group which discovered protactinium-231? She fled Nazi Germany for Sweden in 1938.
Lise Meitner
Bonus - Four Parts
Identify these famous chemists
A. He worked on the molecular structure of proteins, halting nuclear weapons testing, and promoting vitamin C
B. He shared a Nobel Prize with Edward MacMillan in 1951 for their work on transuranium elements
C. This seventeenth century Anglo-Irish chemist based many of his experiments on an air pump he created with Robert Hooke
D. He wrote Meteorological Observations and Essays in 1793 and New System of Chemical Philosophy in 1808
A. Linus Pauling B. Glenn Seaborg C. Robert Boyle D. John Dalton
24. Tossup Social Studies/Money
It began trading February 5, 1971 with a base value of 100. It skyrocketed at the end of 1999, taking less than two months to go from 3000 to 4000 points, and going up over 80% for the year. What is this composite index which used to only include small companies but now includes Intel and Microsoft?
NASDAQ
Bonus - Four Parts
Identify these famous American criminals. Use the names by which they were best known:
A. This Dust Bowl couple was portrayed in the movies by Faye Dunnaway and Warren Beatty
B. Their real names were Robert Parker and Harry Longbaugh. They led the Hole in the Wall gang before fleeing to Bolivia in 1901 and were also the subject of a major motion picture.
C. He spent his twenties in prison and was killed by the FBI at the age of 32 in Chicago but managed to rob at least 10 banks in between.
D. This famous mother of four sons had one killed by Kansas cops, one killed along with her by the FBI in 1935, one die trying to flee Alcatraz, and one killed by his wife after getting out of Leavenworth
A. Bonnie (Parker) & Clyde (Barrow) B. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid C. John Dillinger
D. Arizona "Ma" Barker
25. Tossup Miscellaneous/Chicagoland
In what sixty-acre park will you find Wallace Bowl and a Dog Beach? Wallace Bowl is well known for its Third of July shows and performances by the Starlight Theatre of Wilmette.
Gillson Park
Bonus - Four Parts
Given the intersection, tell what Chicago suburb you would be in:
A. Lincoln & Crawford
B. Algonquin & River
C. Lake & Waukegan
D. Dempster & Austin
A. Lincolnwood B. Des Plaines C. Glenview D. Morton Grove
26. Tossup Social Studies/Current Events
Named B'stan-'dzin-rgya-mtsho, he was chosen to lead his people in 1937 at the age of two. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize fifty-two years later in support of his efforts to win freedom for his people from Chinese rule. Give the title of this Tibetan leader.
Dalai Lama
Bonus - Four Parts
Identify the following nations which have ongoing internal disputes:
A. The Zapatista National Liberation Army has fought in Chiapas, the southernmost state in this country
B. Some Hindu Tamils want their own homeland on this island, which has a Buddhist Sinhalese majority
C. The northern third of this island is a nation recognized only by Turkey
D. Baggara have enslaved Dinkas in this African country's civil war, which has been ongoing since the country received independence from Britain in 1956
A. Mexico B. Sri Lanka (or Ceylon) C. Cyprus D. Sudan
27. Tossup Science/Physics
Which physical effect is analagous to a Christoffel voltage? It is numerically equal to two times the velocity of an object times the angular velocity of a frame of reference times the sine of the latitude of the frame of reference, and is significant in ballistics and the study of sunspots.
Coriolis Effect (or Force or Deflection)
Bonus - Four Parts
Albert Einstein was often asked for his opinions as to who should win a Nobel Prize. Answer these questions about them:
A. In 1918, Einstein was asked for his opinion and recommended that this man win the physics prize for his paper "On the elementary quanta of matter and electricity."
B. Einstein co-wrote a book entitled Why War? with this very famous man, whose friends asked Einstein to support him for the prize in medicine. Einstein refused.
C. In 1947, Einstein wrote a letter in favor of which Swede for the Peace Prize? After saving probably 20,000 Jews from Hitler, he was imprisoned by the Soviets and disappeared.
D. Einstein never formally supported anybody for the prize in literature, but wrote in a letter that it would be justified to consider which German-American author of The Death of Virgil?
A. Max Planck B. Sigmund Freud C. Raoul Wallenberg D. Hermann Broch
28. Tossup Fine Arts/Music
What bandleader's career was cut short when his plane disappeared over the English Channel in 1944? His band's best-known songs were Tuxedo Junction, In the Mood, and Moonlight Serenade.
Glenn Miller
Bonus - Four Parts
Identify the fictional women of rock and roll from the lyrics
A. Whom did Rod Stewart tell, "You stole my heart but I love you anyway"?
B. Who was described by Them as, "Just 'bout five feet four from her head to the ground"?
C. Who was told by Simon and Garfunkel, "I'm down on my knees, I'm begging you please to come home"?
D. Who was asked by Derek and the Dominos, "Darling won't you ease my worried mind?"
A. Maggie May B. Gloria C. Cecilia D. Layla
29. Tossup Mathematics/Computers
Name the electronics engineer who started his own firm in 1972, left it to be a consultant in 1981, and in 1985 built a computer capable of over one billion calculations per second. He did most of his work in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin before dying in 1996. He named his computers, with models such as the 1-M, X-MP, and Y-MP, after himself.
Seymour Cray
Bonus - Four Parts
Identify these eccentric mathematicians who were important in the development of computers:
A. This nineteenth century mathematician worked on the difference engine and analytical engine before spending his last years persecuting organ grinders.
B. Before committing suicide in order to avoid undergoing treatment for homosexuality in 1954, this mathematician designed a hypothetical machine which proved that any computer processor is as powerful as any other except for restrictions on speed. He also proposed the definition of a thinking computer.
C. As a child in Hungary, he entertained his parents' friends by memorizing pages of the phone book. As an adult at Princeton, he was a first-class mathematician who is credited with the basic design of single-processor computers and the adoption of the bit as a unit of memory.
D. She developed the first compiler and found the first computer bug--a dead moth that got into the Harvard Mark II. She carried around wires which represented the distance light travels in a nanosecond.
A. Charles Babbage B. Alan Turing C. John von Neumann D. Grace Murray Hopper
30. Tossup Literature/World Literature
This
collected work of poetry, whose title translates into English as Quatrains, were
not translated well into English until 750 years after they were written. The
translation by Edward FitzGerald contains lines such as "A Jug of Wine, a
Loaf of Bread--and Thou." Name these works of Persian poetry by Omar
Khayyam .
Rubáiyát
Bonus - Three Parts
Identify the following from The Thousand and One Nights
A. Who sees a giant bird called a roc in his travels?
B. What son of a deceased Chinese man has a wonderful life after he is led to a cave by an African claiming to be his uncle?
C. He used the phrase Open Sesame and is mentioned by Scrooge in A Christmas Carol
A. Sindbad B. Aladdin C. Ali Baba
Replacement Tossup Literature
What country is the home of writers Robertson Davies, Margaret Atwood, and Lucy Maud Montgomery? Montgomery wrote Anne of the Green Gables.
Canada
Replacement Bonus - Four Parts
Name the four United States Presidents who were assassinated.
Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John Kennedy
Replacement Tossup Mathematics
Find the dot, or inner, product of the vectors (3,2,5) and (-1,1,5)
24
Replacement Bonus - Four Parts
Answer the following questions about a single elimination tournament with sixteen teams for which the brackets have already been set up. There are no consolation matches.
A. How many total matches will be played?
B. How many possible outcomes are there for the entire first round?
C. How many possible final match-ups are there?
D. If you follow one team chosen at random, what is the probability that it will lose in the semifinals?
A. 15 B. 256 C. 64 D. 1/8
Tossup Language Arts
What eight-letter verb has the transitive meanings to cause to lose flesh so as to become very thin and to make feeble? It has the intransitive meaning to waste away physically. It begins with the letter e.
Emaciate
Bonus - Four Parts
Identify these synonyms of the word kind
A. This six-letter word is used to describe diseases which have a good prognosis
B. This five-letter word has many meanings, one of which is an ancient writing instrument
C. If you put the word The before this word, you get the name of a Bernard Malamud book which was turned into a Robert Redford movie
D. This synonym of class beginning with the letter c is, according to Webster's Third New International Dictionary, one of the most abstract and universal terms, concepts, or notions
A. Benign B. Style C. Natural D. Category