3rd VT High School Invitational Tournament – Round 2

Questions by Ryan “British Royal Navy” Gunderson

1. The Antoine equation gives it in millimeters of mercury, in terms of Celsius temperature. The Cox chart gives it as pounds per foot squared in terms of Fahrenheit temperature. As long as liquid and gaseous phases are present and in equilibrium, this pressure will be constant, regardless of volume. FTP, identify this type of pressure, the type exerted by a gas in the forementioned equilibrium system.

A: vapor pressure

2. One is a conservative state senator from Chesapeake. Another is a former tobacco executive, and the best-known of the three is a former Commonwealth's Attorney for Henrico County. They are running against a group led by the proprietor of a Volvo dealership from Falls Church, and the current Lieutenant Governor. FTP, name this group, which this year consists of Mark Earley, John Hager, and James Gilmore.

A: Virginia Republican gubernatorial ticket (Accept equivalents.)

3. Two of this multi-car NASCAR team's members are the only Chevrolet drivers to have won a race this season. The driver who leads the team is an Indiana native, and has all but one of the wins by a Chevy this season. Another driver is the defending NASCAR champion, while its third member finished third at the Daytona 500, behind his two teammates. FTP, name this team, named for its owner, whose cars are driven by Ricky Craven, Terry Labonte and Jeff Gordon.

A: Hendrick Motorsport

4. Born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia, he attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. He spent six years in the Navy, primarily as a submariner. He later became governor of Georgia, and he currently he does charity work for many organizations, most notably Habitat for Humanity. FTP, name this man who, with Walter Mondale, defeated Gerald Ford in the 1976 Presidential elections.

A: James Earl "Jimmy" Carter

5. The National Rifle Association is founded. Despite the scandals which hounded his administration during his first term, Ulysses S. Grant is reelected to the Presidency. The Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, which today is known as Virginia Tech, is founded. FTP, in what year did all of these events occur?

A: 1872

6. One of France’s greatest dramatic poets, he rose from common birth to become a nobleman, purely through his literary talent. This 17th century French dramatist had a personal friendship with Louis XIV, and with Nicholas Boileau, wrote the official history of his reign. For the most part, his plays, such as Berenice and Athalie, are based on Classical legend, and follow the plot of one person pursuing another, who is in love with still a third. FTP, name this author of Andromaque and Phedre.

A: Jean Racine

7. A $28 billion cash offer by GTE may start a bidding war for this Washington based company reminiscent of the 1980’s. Although this bid is not as high as the $30 billion offered by WorldCom, it may force British Telecom PLC out of the race. Perhaps the stockholders' sentiments, who are now in a position to make a lot of money from their investment, can be summed up with the company's current advertising slogan: "Is this a great time, or what?". FTP, name this company, the title sponsor of the new sports arena in downtown Washington.

A: MCI

8. He lived from 1167 to 1216, and ruled England for the last 17 years of his life. Successor to Richard the Lionheart, he is widely considered to be England’s worst king. He conspired to kill his father, Henry II, and also conspired against his brother Richard while he was away fighting the Crusades. He lost all of England’s French possessions except for Aquitaine, and quarrelled with Pope Innocent III over the appointment of Stephen Langdon as Archbishop of Canterbury. At his death, he left a divided kingdom to his nine year old son, Henry III. FTP, name this English monarch, who was forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215.

A: King John

9. This Russian is noted for being an amateur lepodopeterist; that is, he collected butterflies. However, he is better known for his writing. which is full of parody, punnery, and hoaxes. This Russian-born author wrote such works as Tyrants Destroyed and Pale Fire, but is most famous for a 1955 novel which became a play and a movie. FTP, identify this author about the antihero Humbert Humbert, the central character in Lolita.

A: Vladimir Nabokov

10. You may need pencil and paper. FTP, find the roots of the polynomial .(Read as: y equals x cubed minus seven x plus six)

A: x = 1, x = 2, x = -3

END OF TOSS-UP ROUND #1


11. This physical law states that the electric flux of a system depends only on the charge in the system. This law is one of the four equations commonly bundled together and called Maxwell's Equations. FTP name the law which mathematically states that the surface integral of the electric field dotted with the outward normal of the surface is directly proportional to the charge enclosed in the surface, and is named for the 19th Century German mathematician and physicist who discovered it.

A: Gauss' Law

12. Its flag depicts a yellow eagle flying below a yellow sun on a blue-green background. Almost 17 million people inhabit this former Soviet republic which borders the Caspian and Aral Seas. The Karatau Mountains are a prominent feature in the south. Russians constitute 41 percent in this primarily Moslem nation which borders Russia, Uzbekistan, Krygyzstan, and China. FTP, name the nation, the second largest by area of the former Soviet Republics, whose cultural center and capital is at Almaty.

A: Kazakhstan

13. The first turned the waters of the Nile into blood. The third caused an infestation of lice. The fifth brought disease to the Egyptian livestock. FTP, identify this series of Biblical events with the death of the first-born child in all of the Egyptian households, which led to the release of the Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt.

A: ten plagues of Egypt

14. This city is known as the City of Six Flags, because in addition to its state flag, the flags of the the United States, the Confederate States, Spain, France, and Great Britain have flown over it at various points in its history. Home to the America's Young Woman of the Year pageant, it also is the home of Forts Morgan and Gaines. Famous for its Azalea Trail and Bellingrath Gardens, it is at the mouth of the river of the same name. FTP, name this city, Alabama's major port on the Gulf of Mexico.

A: Mobile, Alabama

15. Born in 1573 in London, he apprenticed as a bricklayer with his father, but he was unhappy with the trade, and ran off to join the army. William Camden, his teacher at Westminster School, was a very potent influence on him. This Elizabethan playwright’s best-loved poem is 'To Celia', which begins "Drink to me only with thine eyes." FTP, name this author who wrote such works as The Alchemist and Volpone

A: Ben Jonson

16. You may need pencil and paper. This number is the only three digit number which is both a perfect square and perfect cube. Taking the cube root of the number gives the third digit, while the square root of the number gives the first two digits in reverse order. The third digit of the number equal to the sum of the first two. FTP, give this number, which is the cube of nine.

A: 729

17. The Dutch astronomer for which it was named first theorized its existence in 1968. Though still considered part of the Solar System, it lies far beyound Pluto’s normal orbit. FTP, name this shell of frozen matter, which is thought to be the source of comets.

A: Oort cloud

18. In geology, this law, along with the law of original horizontality, governs the content of sedimentary rock, stating that the newer sediment will be above the older layers of sediment. In wave theory, this principle states that if two waves pass through the same point, the amplitude of the resulting wave at that point is the sum of the amplitudes of the two individual waves. FTP, give the common name of these two principles.

A: superposition

19. This composer wrote the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize, capturing it in 1932. He was one of the first composers to use themes within classical music forms. He wrote "La La Lucille" in 1919, followed by "Lady Be Good" in 1924. He wrote his most famous work in 1924. FTP, identify this composer, who with his brother Ira wrote "Porgy and Bess" and "Of Thee I Sing," who also composed "An American in Paris" and "Rhapsody in Blue".

A: George Gershwin

20. This aritist was born during the 1390s in Maaseik, in modern-now Belgium. He perfected the technique of painting in oils, and is known for having painted mainly portraits and religious subjects on wooden panels. Only 9 of his paintings are signed, and only 10 are dated. He created works such as "Madonna with Chancellor Rolin" and " The Adoration of the Lamb". FTP, name this Flemish painter, whose masterpiece was "The Arnolfini Wedding."

A: Jan Van Eyck

END OF TOSS-UP ROUND #2

21. During her lifetime, only seven of her poems were published. However, perhaps appropriately, she gained public recognition, having several of her works, most of them known by their first lines, were published after her death. FTP, identify this "Belle of Amherst, " and author of “A Narrow Fellow in the Grass,” and “Because I Could Not Stop for Death.”

A: Emily Dickinson


22. His father, Lord Randolph, was a Conservative leader, Secretary of State for India, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was just as accomplished politically, winning election to Parliament in 1900, and first entering the cabinet in 1908. He served as Secretary of State for Home Affairs, and in 1911 he became First Lord of the Admiralty. Between the world wars, he held more posts in the Cabinet, the most notable being Chancellor of the Exchequer. He was reappointed First Lord of the Admiralty in 1939, and in then following year succeeded Neville Chamberlain. FTP, name this man who headed Britain's government from 1940 to 1945, largely responsible for rallying the Allies in their fight against Hitler.

A: Sir Winston Churchill

23. The film series started in 1961, with Joseph Wiseman playing the title character in a timid introduction of the writings of a former spy and officer of the Royal Navy to the screen. Jane Seymour made her debut in the one of the movies in the series, and Tanya Roberts starred with Christopher Walken in a 1985 tale, which was the last one based on a novel. The newest movie in the series will star Jonathan Pryce and Teri Hatcher. FTP name the character whose name denotes the series, who has at times been played by Woody Allen, George Lazenby, Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Tim Dalton and most recently, Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies.

A: Commander James Bond (Prompt on 007.)

24. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1711, he attended the University of Edinburgh, but he found the study of law distasteful. As a result, he turned to the study of literature and philosophy. From 1734 to 1737, he lived in France, and it was there where he wrote his "A Treatise of Human Nature." He later dismissed it as not accurately reflecting his views. His "Political Discourses," written in 1752, saw him begin his rise to international fame. FTP, name this man who believed that knowledge comes exclusively from experience and observation, and who led the agnostic or skeptical school of philosophy.

A: David Hume

25. She was born in Winchester, Virginia in 1873, and at the age of nine, she moved to Nebraska, where several of her stories take place. One story details the life of a French missionary in the American Southwest and his rise to Archbishop of that region. FTP, name this author of such works as Death Comes for the Archbishop, O Pioneers!, and My Antonia.

A: Willa Cather

26. He founded the Louisiana Military Academy, which later became Louisiana State University. Although born in the North, he had an affection for South, and in 1860 lamented that an agricultural nation had never waged war against and beaten an industrial nation. He made sure that this trend continued, taking command of the western Army after Grant was appointed as commander-in-chief. FTP, name this man, who became famous for burning Atlanta to the ground, and for his subsequent “March to the Sea.”

A: William T. Sherman

27. He started out as an English major at Harvard, until he handed in an essay by Orson Wells and got a "B-" on it. He switched his major to medicine and completed a medical degree. However, instead of practicing medicine, he began writing novels, including "The Great Train Robbery," "Terminal Man," and "Sphere." His hometown, Chicago is the setting for "E.R.," which should be no surprise, since he writes for the show. FTP, name this author of "The Andromeda Strain," "Congo," "Rising Sun," "Disclosure," and "Jurassaic Park."

A: Michael Crichton

28. He had the gall to call the French "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" on national television. Of course, this "blouse wearing poodle walker" probably made up for it by being axed to death three times in one half-hour episode. Long before he came to America and began his career in "the lowest, most degrading work known to man," he was engaged to a blind Shari Bobbins, until she got her sight back and realized that he was the ugliest man in Glasgow. FTP, name this Scottish janitor at Springfield Elementary School, whom, when properly greased, "nary an animal alive can outrun."

A: Groundskeeper Willie

29. In many respects, this document was ahead of its time. Although the hallmark of this governing document was based on an inhumane premise, other aspects of this 1861 document were ahead of their time. It contains the line item veto, about 135 years before it was enacted by the U.S. Congress. Also, this document stipulated the president be elected to one six-year term, in many respects, putting him above politics. FTP, name this document, whose preamble stated that each state "was acting in its sovereign and independent character," which governed the American South from 1861 to 1865.