1. World
Literature
As a
teenager, this writer joined the Hitler Youth Movement and fought for the
Germans in World War Two. Lately, however, he is more beloved outside of Germany
than inside because of his criticism of reunification and the way Germany treats
foreign workers. Identify this Nobel Prize Winner who wrote The Tin Drum.
ANSWER:
(Gunter Wilhelm) Grass
2.
Algebra (30 Seconds)
Start
with $100. Raise it by ten percent. Decrease that amount by ten percent.
Increase that amount by ten percent. How much money do you have?
ANSWER:
$108.90
3.
Biology
What
general term beginning with the letter N refers to any member of a class of organic compounds in
which the molecular structure comprises a nitrogen-containing unit linked to a
sugar and a phosphate group? One example is uracil. These are the building
blocks of nucleic acids.
ANSWER: Nucleotide(s)
4.
United States History
During
whose presidency was the US Naval Academy opened and the first sewing machine
patented? This president is remembered most for expanding the United States.
During his term, we settled the Oregon boundary and won the Mexican War.
Identify this dark horse who won the election of 1844 over Henry Clay.
ANSWER:
(James Knox) Polk
5. Pop
Culture
His
biological father is Joseph Toney, but he considers his real father to be
Phillip Harrison, a situation he addressed in the rap song "Biological
Didn't Bother". Who spent much of his childhood in Newark, New Jersey and a
military base in Germany before attending LSU? He owns one mansion in Beverly
Hills near his current team's home and by Orlando near his former team's home.
Name this 345-pound man who has been the MVP in the last three NBA Finals.
ANSWER:
(Shaquille) O'Neal
6.
Technology
It was
known as Geological Service and then Coronado Corporation when it was originally
formed to search for oil. This company claims to have developed the first
electronic hand-held calculator in 1967 and the first single-chip microcomputer
in 1971. Headquartered in Dallas, its current focus is on digital signal
processors and analog devices, but it is better know in high schools for its
graphing calculators.
ANSWER:
Texas Instruments
7.
British Literature
Upon
reading one of whose earlier poems did Tennyson claim that he understood only
the first and last lines and that both of them were lies? His longest poem, 'The
Ring and the Book', tells the story of a murder from twelve perspectives.
Identify this writer of 'My Last Duchess' and 'Pied Piper of Hamelin' who gained
fame after the death of his wife, who was also a successful poet.
ANSWER:
(Robert) Browning
8.
Calculus (30 Seconds)
Find the
derivative of the function 8x7-9x6+10x5+16x4.
ANSWER:
56x6-54x5+50x4+64x3
9.
Language Arts
Identify
the ten-letter word that is a synonym of omnipresent. It begins with the letter
U.
ANSWER:
Ubiquitous
10.
Chemistry (10 Seconds)
What are
differentiated from solutions by the Tyndall Effect? Types include aerosols,
foams, and emulsions. Identify these mixtures where the particles are too big to
be considered solutions but too small to be considered suspensions.
ANSWER:
Colloid(s) (Dispersion) (prompt on dispersion)
11.
World History
It
lasted from 1867 through World War One. The arrangement was first set up by
Francis Joseph, who became the king of one half and the emperor of the other but
allowed each part to manage its own affairs. Identify this nation which
contained, among other lands, what is now the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and
Croatia.
ANSWER:
Austria-Hungary
12.
Music
In which
musical is the song You Gotta Have Heart? The main character makes a deal with
the devil so that he can play for the Washington Senators and lead them to the
pennant against their hated rivals.
ANSWER:
Damn Yankees
13.
United States Literature
Which
author added a W to the middle of his last name when he began to write? He was
such a close friend of Herman Melville that Moby Dick was dedicated to him. In
1846, he published the short story collection Mosses from an Old Manse. Identify
this author of The Blithedale Romance, The House of the Seven Gables, and The
Scarlet Letter.
ANSWER:
(Nathaniel) Hawthorne
14.
Physics (10 Seconds)
Identify
the nineteenth century physicist who developed two simple rules to analyze
electric circuits. They are known as the junction rule and the loop rule and
deal with, respectively, current and electric potential.
ANSWER:
(Gustave Robert) Kirchhoff
15.
Current Events
Which
1947 Act of Congress was invoked by President Bush last month to end a lockout
of Pacific dockworkers? This act, which limits the powers of unions, was named
after an Ohio Senator and New Jersey Representative.
ANSWER:
Taft-Hartley (Act) (accept Labor-Management Relations Act)
16.
Geometry/Trigonometry (30 Seconds)
You are
trying to measure the height of a wall. When you are one hundred feet from the
wall at ground level and look to see the top of the wall, the angle of elevation
of your line of sight is thirty-nine degrees. To three significant digits, how
tall is the wall if the sine of thirty-nine degrees is 0.629, the cosine of
thirty-nine degrees is 0.777, and the tangent of thirty-nine degrees is 0.810?
ANSWER:
81.0 Feet
17.
Religion/Mythology
In early
Scandinavian folklore, these were hostile giants who turned to stone if they
were exposed to sunlight. Over time, they have gotten smaller. Identify these
beings who, according to a more modern children’s story, can live under a
bridge and harass people who try to cross over.
ANSWER:
Troll(s)
18.
Astronomy/Earth Science/Geography
Which
branch of science deals with the life of past geological periods as known from
fossil remains? It dates back to the early 1800s and is often associated with
dinosaurs.
ANSWER:
Paleontology
19.
Nonfiction
This
British politician once left the country for five years after supporting a man
indicted for high treason. As a philosopher, he wrote that men naturally possess
certain rights such as life, liberty, and property and that rulers derive power
from the consent of the people. He also wrote on the human mind, using the
phrase tabula rasa. Identify this seventeenth century writer of An Essay
Concerning Human Understanding.
ANSWER:
(John) Locke
20.
Art/Architecture
During
the late 1960s, which artist parodied images such as a portrait of George
Washington? His best-known works, however, come from the early 1960s and include
large advertisements, travel posters, and cartoons. Identify this exponent of
pop art who painted Whaam!
ANSWER:
(Roy) Lichtenstein