WashingtonUniversityHigh School Academic Challenge VIII
January 28, 2006
Round 5
Written by members of Washington University Academic Team
Edited by Lori Currier, Ryan Jacobson, Sean Phillips and Jon Pinyan
1. It was developed by the German doctor Franz Joseph Gall who attempted to connect mental faculties to so-called organs of the brain. Gall did his work in the 19th century, but by the 20th century, his field was used to argue in favor of social Darwinism and the Nazis used it to point to racial superiority. For ten points, what is this pseudoscience that measured skull dimensions to draw conclusions about an individuals’ personality and abilities.
ANSWER:Phrenology
2. This country was first dominated by the Tiwanaku culture around the second century BCE. The Incas conquered it around 1450, with the Spanish taking over in 1525. Since gaining its independence in 1825, it has lost half its territory, most notably its access to the Pacific Ocean to Chile. What is this country which, for ten points, gets its name from the revolutionary fighter Simon Bolivar?
ANSWER:Bolivia
3. Mary is the plainest member of this family, and compensates by fancying herself accomplished. Catherine, or Kitty, allows herself to be dominated by her flighty younger sister, Lydia. Jane, the eldest, is a sweet natured person who never seeks to think ill of anyone. For 10 points, identify this family of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the most famous of whom is Elizabeth.
ANSWER: Bennet
4. She wrote the essays “Love—In Other Words”, “Christmas to Me”, “When Children Discover America”, and “High Romance and Adventure,” but is better known for her single novel, the story of a Southern lawyer who takes on the unpopular task of defending a black man. FTP, identify this author of To Kill a Mockingbird.
ANSWER: (Nelle) Harper Lee
5. It was a strategically crucial duchy during the Renaissance and Baroque eras, and its rulers eventually acquired Bohemia and became Holy Roman Emperors. It shares its name with the German revolutionary who co-founded the Spartacist movement before her death in the failed 1919 communist uprising. It was invaded twice by Germany in World War I, first on August 1st, 1914, and again five hours later after the Kaiser ordered a momentary withdrawal from this nation and its larger neighbor, Belgium. For 10 points, what is Grand Duchy whose capital shares its name with the country?
ANSWER: Luxembourg
6. On average they are about 60 miles thick and are composed primarily of silicon, magnesium and aluminum. Their movement is described as continental drift, and interactions between them can create mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes. For ten points, name these structures that lie underneath the Earth’s land masses and move continents.
ANSWER: Tectonic plates
7. This British philosopher, born in 1872, would die 98 years later, 20 years after receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was also a logician and mathematician, which explains why he felt mathematics could be expressed in logical terms. Who is this man who, for ten points, was a primary founder of analytic philosophy and, along with Albert Einstein, wrote a manifesto in 1955 opposing nuclear weapons?
ANSWER:BertrandRussell
8. It was the last of four colonial wars, and the only one of the four to begin on American soil and spread to Europe from there. It is also the only one that effected major territorial change, when the British and Americans invaded and conquered portions of Canada. For 10 points, identify this war, that ended with the French ceding Canada to Britain as one of the terms of the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
ANSWER: The French and Indian Waror theSeven Years’ War
9. A predecessor of this oldest commercial airline in the United States made its first flight on April 6, 1926, as part of its air mail service. In the 1930s, it began to develop into a national carrier and created hubs in Denver and San Francisco, which still exist today. On December 9, 2002, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will finally emerge from it on February 1, 2006. For 10 points, name this airline which invites you to “come fly the friendly skies”.
ANSWER: United Airlines
10. It is named for two scientists who worked independently, one a British mathematician and the other a German doctor. Their work illustrates that something other than the reshuffling processes of sexual reproduction is required to alter the gene pool. Some of the conditions required for it to hold true are a lack of mutations and a very large population size. For 10 points, what is this type of equilibrium, in which allele frequencies become fixed at a value after one generation of totally random mating.
ANSWER:Hardy-Weinbergequilibrium or principle
11. After their lead singer’s death, they released the albums Other Voices and Full Circle before ultimately breaking up in 1973. This rock band never had a bass player and more or less compensated with Ray Manzarek’s organ work. Their second album included the songs “People are Strange” and “Love Me Two Times,” but the songs on their debut included the classics “The End” and “Light My Fire.” For 10 points, what is this rock group fronted by Jim Morrison?
ANSWER: The Doors
12. Studied by scientists such as Henry Cavendish and Joseph Priestly, this element has proved to be essential to everyday life. It is a component in explosives, rocket fuel, filling tires, and coolant.Valued for its inertness, and contained both in amino acids and nucleic acid bases, for ten points, name this diatomic element found in ammonia and in air.
ANSWER: nitrogen
13. This city was founded on April 12, 1889, when unassigned lands not belonging to any Indian tribe became available for settlement. Within 18 years, it had passed Guthrie to become the largest city in its state and is currently the third largest city in the nation by area. For ten points, which 29th most populous city in the United States lies in the Great Plains and was the site of a 1995 terrorist attack?
ANSWER:Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
14. Pencil and paper ready. Larry, Moe, and Curly are working together on painting a house. Larry could paint the house by himself in 12 hours, while Moe and Curly would each take 24 hours to complete the task by themselves. For 10 points, if the three work without a break until the entire house is painted, how long will it take them?
ANSWER: 6 hours
15. King James I was one of the first to speak out against them and they are explicitly outlawed by the state constitutions of Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama. Andrew Jackson killed a man this way and Stephen Decatur met his end in one of these, which often being when one individual demands satisfaction and throws a glove. For ten points what is this type of combat which famously took place between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton?
ANSWER:Duels or dueling
16. He only lost one election in his life, a 1946 contest for Cook County Sheriff. He would go on to win election to his most famous post 6 times. During his tenure, his city saw unprecedented growth, breaking ground on O'Hare Airport and the SearsTower. For ten points, who was this man behind the Democratic Machine, longtime mayor of Chicago?
ANSWER: Richard J. Daley or Daley Sr. or Daley I(prompt on Daley or Richard Daley)
17. His closest brother, Lakshmana, married Urmila, the younger sister of his wife, Sita Devi. Lakshmana was assigned to guard Sita when she sends him to fetch a golden deer, which is actually the demon Maricha. Later, because Sita had earlier been captured by Ravana, he later banished a pregnant Sita from his kingdom of Ayodhya. Name for 10 points this seventh avatar of the supreme god of Hinduism.
ANSWER: Rama or Ramachandra (do not accept Vishnu)
18. He graced the cover of Time magazine in January 1936, helped develop the atomic bomb, and was later the chancellor of WashingtonUniversity in St Louis. FTP, name this physicist who won the Nobel Prize in 1927 for his work with X-rays, demonstrating the particle component of electro-magnetic radiation and his namesake effect.
ANSWER: Arthur Holly Compton
19. Three boys and three girls are waiting outside their classroom for their teacher to arrive. They form a line starting from the door. Assuming that they arrange themselves randomly, give the probability, for 10 points, that the students in the line alternate between boy and girl.
ANSWER:1/10, or .1
20. The action of this novel begins in Juffure, a Sub-Saharan village in Gambia. The action eventually shifts to Spotsylvania County, Virginia, and eventually the main character’s foot is cut off savagely by John Waller. After the main character and his wife, Bell, have a daughter, Kizzy, who at the age of sixteen is sold downriver and is raped by Tom Lea. The child from this act is later named Chicken Goerge. For 10 points what is this novel about the family of its author, Alex Haley, that starts its lineage with Kunta Kinte?
ANSWER:Roots: The Saga of an American Family
21. In an episode of The Simpsons, Homer claims that 1782 to the 12th power plus 1841 to the 12th power equals 1922 to the 12th power. This would be quite remarkable, but Homer is wrong, as far as Andrew Wiles is concerned. Wiles finished the proof of, for 10 points, this theorem stating that no such equation can hold, whose namesake claimed a beautiful proof that the margin could not hold.
ANSWER: Fermat’s last theorem
1. Given a presidential campaign slogan, identify the president who used it for ten points each. The year is not necessary.
[10] “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too”
ANSWER: William Henry Harrison (prompt on Harrison)
[10] “Not Just Peanuts”
ANSWER: Jimmy Carter
[10] “Return to Normalcy”
ANSWER: Warren G. Harding
2. For 10 points each, give the color corresponding to the metal’s flame test:
[10] Copper.
ANSWER: Green
[10] Strontium.
ANSWER: Red
[10] Potassium.
ANSWER: Purple
3. Identify the follow about a city in West Africa, for 10 points each.
[10] The Sankore mosque, a former center of Islamic learning, is located in which West African city?
ANSWER: Timbuktu
[10] Timbuktu lies 20 kilometers north of which river?
ANSWER: Niger
[10] In 1996, weapons were ceremoniously burnt in Timbuktu to mark the end of this Rebellion.
ANSWER: Tuareg
4. Are you a biology "all-star"? Answer these questions about starfish for ten points each.
[10] Starfish are members of this interesting phylum whose name means "spiny skin".
ANSWER:Echinodermata or echinoderms
[10] The arms of a starfish are aranged in a pattern 360 degrees around a central point. In biology what is the term for such organization in life?
ANSWER:radial symmetry
[10] The starfish has two of these organs, the cardiac and pyloric, one of which can be pushed out of the body to absorb nutrients.
ANSWER:stomachs
5. This bonus may not be hard, but some rocks are.
[10] The most common scale of hardness, from one to ten based on what an object scratches and is scratched by, was developed by this early 19th-century German mineralogist.
ANSWER: Friedrich Mohs
[5,5] Name the substances found at the 1 and 10 ends of the scale, a soft powder found in baby powder and a rare gem respectively.
ANSWER: talc, diamond (must be in order)
[10] Coming in just below diamond at 9 is this crystalline form of aluminum oxide.
ANSWER: corundum
6. Identify the German Romantic composer, given a description for ten points apiece.
[10] He embodied the Romantic ideal of the tragic artist who defied all odds to conquer his own fate. He was a Classical composer in the traditions of Mozart and Haydn, but his Middle Period, beginning with his third symphony, the "Eroica", bridges the worlds of Classical and Romantic musi[10]
ANSWER: Ludwig van Beethoven
[10] This inventor of the tone poem was Hungarian by nationality, but spent his most fruitful years in Germany, and German was his first language. His flamboyant style is seen in such pieces as his Hungarian Rhapsodies.
ANSWER: Franz Liszt (pronounced "list")
[10] This man helped to revive interest in the works of Bach. Among his works is the Overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream", which includes the famous "Wedding March".
ANSWER: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
7. Answer the following about the works of John Steinbeck for 10 points each.
[10] This Steinbeck novel tells of the Okie Joad family and their travails during the Dust Bowl and the Depression.
ANSWER:The Grapes of Wrath
[10] Come on, pet the rabbits! This story of the simple Lennie and his friend George ends tragically as Lennie’s penchant for soft things causes him to inadvertently kill Curly’s wife.
ANSWER:Of Mice and Men
[10] This 1945 novel set in Monterrey deals with the local grocer, Lee Chong and Mack, the leader of a local group of bums.
ANSWER:Cannery Row
8. Answer these questions about an event from the 1990s for 10 points each.
[10] It took Place in October of 1995 on the mall in WashingtonD.C. The size of the crowd at this march for African Americans has been disputed.
ANSWER: Million Man March
[10] The organizer of the Million Man March was this leader of the nation of Islam.
ANSWER: Louis Farrakhan
[10] One of the speakers at the event was this founder of the RAINBOW/PUSH coalition.
ANSWER: Jesse Jackson Sr.
9. Answer these questions about thermodynamics for 10 points each:
[10] This is the term for the amount of energy it takes to raise one gram of water by one degree Celsius.
ANSWER: calorie
[10] A calorimeter is a device used to measure the heat of reactions. What is the special word for a calorimeter that functions at high pressures and constant volume?
ANSWER: bomb calorimeter
[10] You may have made a calorimeter in chemistry class using two Styrofoam cups. This devide maintains constant pressure to measure what quantity, symbolized by H?
ANSWER: enthalpy
10. Answer these questions about an infamous dictator for ten points each.
[10] This man, whose actual name was Saloth Sar, was the prime minister of Cambodia from 1976 until 1979.
ANSWER: Pol Pot
[10] Pol Pot was in charge of this communist organization which ruled Cambodia at that time.
ANSWER: Khmer Rouge
[10] At the end of 1978 this nearby country invaded Cambodia and overthrew Pol Pot’s regime.
ANSWER: Vietnam
11. Identify the following Newberry Award winning novels from plot descriptions for 10 points each.
[10] Claudia and Jamie run away from home to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they see a ststue that may or may not be by Michelangelo.
ANSWER: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
[10] Professor William Sherwin accidentally lands on the island of Krakatoa, where the residents have a restaurant government.
ANSWER: The Twenty-One Balloons
[10] Jonas becomes the “Receiver of Memory” and learns about things such as color, music, and love—things his “utopian” society has given up.
ANSWER: The Giver
12. For ten points each, answer these questions related to Pablo Picasso.
[10] Picasso co-founded Cubism with this Frenchman, whom he collaborated with for five years.
ANSWER: Georges Braque
[10] An important work in early Cubism, this Picasso depicts five prostitutes in a Barcelona brothel.
ANSWER: Les Demoiselles d’Avignon or Las Señoritas de la Calle Aviñonor The Women of Avignon
[10] This most famous Picasso depicts the titular Basque town after aerial bombardment by Germany’s Condor Legion.
ANSWER: Guernica
13. Pencil and paper ready. It’s time for some Roman numeral math! Remember to give your answers in Roman numerals. For 10 points each:
[10] IV times VI
ANSWER: XXIV (24)
[10] CIX minus XXIV
ANSWER: LXXXV (85)
[10] CCXXX divided by V
ANSWER: XLVI (46)
14. Hockey’s back! Answer the following about the NHL for 10 points each.
[10] Vying with the Blues for bragging rights in terms of sheer incompetence is this Ohio based team led by Sergei Federov and Bryan Berard.
ANSWER: Columbus Blue Jackets(Accept “Columbus” or “Blue Jackets,” not “That other crappy team” even though it is true.)
[10] Enjoying a far better season than in years past is this Jaromir Jagr team in the Atlantic division of the Eastern Conference. They last won the Stanley Cup in 1994.
ANSWER: New York Rangers (See previous answer line.)
[10] The Rangers will have to slug it out with this team featuring Peter Forsberg and Mike Knuble for top honors in their conference, a tall task as this team has accumulated 100+ points the last two seasons.
ANSWER: Philadelphia Flyers (See previous)