These questions are for use in the Virginia High School ...



These questions are for use in the Virginia High School League’s Scholastic Bowl District competition. Shawn Pickrell, Jason Mueller, and Dan Goff are the authors of these questions; further editing was done by Adam Fine and Marian Suter.

Districts must observe the following conditions, which must be known by all coaches, competitors and spectators of the competition:

(a) Public discussion of these questions before all VHSL District champions have been determined is prohibited.

(b) Releasing these questions to entities outside your District’s competition is prohibited.

First period: 15 tossups, 10 points each

1. T.S. Eliot said this 19th century writer had ‘the intellect of a highly gifted person before puberty.’ Charles Baudelaire (boh-deh-lair) translated his works into French. His poem, Eureka, predicted the existence of black holes. Lizzie Doten claimed to channel him in the poem, ‘Streets of Baltimore.’ Who pioneered science fiction with his The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket and detective fiction with his character, C. Auguste Dupin (doo-pan)?

ANSWER: Edgar Allan Poe

2. The first person to win two Nobel Prizes is also the only laureate in two different sciences. In the late 1980s an image appeared on the 20,000 zloty (zwaw-tee) note during Poland’s inflation. The only woman buried in the French Panthéon (pawn-tay-awn) for her life’s work is what scientist who discovered radium and polonium along with her husband, Pierre?

ANSWER: Marie Curie (Curie shared her prizes with her husband Pierre; Linus Pauling is the only solo winner of two prizes)

3. This cyprinid (sih-prih-nid) was introduced to North America in the 1970s for control of algae growth. It is now known as an invasive species in the Mississippi River watershed and is famous for jumping up to ten feet out of the water, especially when startled by boat engines. Name this type of fish.

ANSWER: silver carp or flying carp or Asian carp

4. In Norse myth, the goddess Idunn took care of these items that gave the gods immortality. In Greek myth, their protection involved a hundred-headed dragon named Ladon. Hippomenes (hih-paw-meh-neez) distracted Atalanta with them. In Greek myth, Hercules stole what items that grew in the garden of the Hesperides (heh-spay-rih-deez)?

ANSWER: golden apple(s) (prompt on “apple(s)”)

5. Delaware resident Billy Bailey is the last American to have legally undergone this, although only New Hampshire and Washington still allow it. In the 19th century, a machine called a ‘jerker’ attempted to perform it humanely by jerking the body upwards, but it is usually done by the short, standard, or long drop method. What method of execution involves suspending someone by a rope tied around the neck?

ANSWER: hanging (do not accept or prompt on ‘capital punishment’)

6. In 2005, the Smithsonian announced that it was indeed part of the ‘French Blue,’ one of Marie Antoinette’s stolen crown jewels. Harry Winston, its last private owner, died 20 years after selling it, and its history was embellished by Evalyn Walsh McLean who wore it on a necklace for 36 years with no apparent ill effects. What 45-carat diamond is noted for its brilliant blue color and for allegedly being cursed?

ANSWER: Hope Diamond

7. Its only stage decoration is a drawn pine tree that could be a representation of a tree at the Kasuga shrine. Most of the 250 plays commonly performed in this theatrical tradition are ‘deity,’ ‘warrior,’ ‘woman,’ ‘demon,’ ‘vengeful ghost,’ or ‘madness.’ While all performers will carry fans in their obis (oh-beez), or sashes, only the lead performer will wear a mask. This is all part of what form of Japanese theater that is distinct from kabuki?

ANSWER: Noh theater

8. It is slower but less complex than the modern Atkin method. It is named for an ancient Greek mathematician who was a friend of Archimedes (ar-kih-mee-deez) and a librarian of Alexandria. Name this algorithm that lists numbers and crosses out various multiples as a way of finding prime numbers.

ANSWER: sieve of Eratosthenes (ay-rah-toss-the-neez)

9. A rare black type is found in Oklahoma, Italy, and China; however, it is usually white and its name is often used as a synonym for white. It is also known as satin spar and one type has a Mohs hardness of 1.5 to 2 while the other type has a Mohs hardness of 3. What is the name given to these varieties of gypsum and calcite?

ANSWER: alabaster

10. His passions were stirred by a land dispute with his neighbors, the De Greys, and the overthrow of Richard II. After his cousins captured Conwy Castle and negotiations failed, Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy joined him in revolt. But by 1406 the French had stopped support, and he vanished from history in 1412. Who led an unsuccessful rebellion against the English and was the last native Welshman to be Prince of Wales?

ANSWER: Owen Glendower or Owain (oh-wine) Glyndwr (glin-doo-er)

11. He was involved in the XYZ Affair with Charles Pinckney and Elbridge Gerry. He was Secretary of State in 1800 and 1801, but was tapped for higher office, where he stayed for 34 years until his death, after which he was replaced by Roger Taney (taw-nee). What Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is best-known for establishing the precedent of judicial review in Marbury v. Madison?

ANSWER: John Marshall

12. Caused by lack of electrical polarization, most substances with this property are also lipophilic. Examples of substances with this property are alkanes, oils, greases, and fats. Name this term for molecules that are repelled from water and that comes from the Greek for ‘water fearing.’

ANSWER: hydrophobic or hydrophobe

13. This series of children’s science books is written by Joanna Cole and illustrated by Bruce Degen. A companion series, the Adventures, teaches social studies concepts. Characters include Keesha Franklin, Dorothy Ann, Carlos Ramon, and Arnold Perlstein, all of whom are elementary students. PBS’s first cartoon series is based on what series of children’s books about Ms. Frizzle and a series of improbable field trips?

ANSWER: The Magic School Bus

14. Its highest point is Baldy Mountain. Much of its population lives in the area once covered by prehistoric Lake Agassiz; in fact, lakes still cover nearly 15% of its surface area. Only five cities have over 10,000 people; four of them are Steinbach, Portage-la-Prairie, Thompson, and Brandon. What Canadian province borders North Dakota and Minnesota, has a capital of Winnipeg, and is located between Ontario and Saskatchewan?

ANSWER: Manitoba

15. This woman spoke during Ronald Reagan's funeral, as he had nominated her to the post for which she became most famous. What woman, who heard cases involving the FEC, the Boy Scouts of America and Planned Parenthood was replaced by Justice Samuel Alito in 2006, and has now retired to become the Chancellor of the College of William & Mary?

ANSWER: Sandra Day O'Connor

Second period, 10 directed questions per team, 10 points each

Set A questions have an ‘A’ after their number; set B questions have a ‘B.’

1A. The lacrimal glands produce what bodily fluid?

ANSWER: tears

1B. THIS IS A COMPUTATION QUESTION. What is the mean of 72, 38, 16, 44, 77, and 23?

ANSWER: 45

2A. Escrow and charitable are modern types of what company set up in the late 19th century to establish monopolies?

ANSWER: trust(s)

2B. What Virginia city gets its nickname from the Mill Mountain Star that can easily be seen off of Interstate 81?

ANSWER: Roanoke

3A. Some pollsters think Virginia may be a swing state in 2008. Who was the last Democratic presidential candidate to whom Virginia gave its electoral votes?

ANSWER: Lyndon Baines Johnson (accept LBJ, prompt on ‘Johnson’)

3B. What 1962 novel by Katherine Anne Porter is set on board the Vera as it goes from Mexico to Germany?

ANSWER: Ship of Fools

4A. Who represented East Harlem in Congress between 1922 and 1933, and then defeated Tammany Hall’s John O’Brien in 1933 to become New York City’s mayor?

ANSWER: Fiorello LaGuardia

4B. What fast-food chain opened in 1954 in Miami, Florida, became a publicly traded company in 2006, and sells the Enormous Omelet sandwich and Stacker hamburgers?

ANSWER: Burger King

5A. THIS IS A COMPUTATION QUESTION. In lowest terms, what is 1/6 plus 7/8 minus 5/12?

ANSWER: 5/8

5B. Osteichthyes (aws-tay-ik-theez) is the bony type of what kind of animal?

ANSWER: fish

6A. Who was President of Argentina between 1946 and 1955, and again between 1973 and 1974?

ANSWER: Juan Peron

6B. Shades of brown and a 19th century look are associated with what photographic toning process?

ANSWER: sepia tone

7A. From the Latin for “tail,” what word describes a music passage that is separate from the rest of the piece, but brings the entire work to a close?

ANSWER: coda

7B. What integer multiplied by ten to the 23rd gives the best estimate of Avogadro’s number?

ANSWER: six

8A. In C++, an asterisk is used to indicate indirection. What character is used to indicate a memory address?

ANSWER: ampersand or and-sign

8B. THIS IS A COMPUTATION QUESTION. Solve for x. x squared plus 2x minus 48 equals zero.

ANSWER: x equals 6 and x equals -8 (can be said in either order)

9A. The lines ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all’ and ‘Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness’ are contained in what poem by John Keats?

ANSWER: “Ode on a Grecian Urn” (and not “Ode to a Grecian Urn”)

9B. How would a French speaker say that the weather outside is hot?

ANSWER: il fait chaud (eel fay shoh)

10A. THIS IS A COMPUTATION QUESTION. If a pentagon has angles of 2x degrees, 3x degrees, 4x degrees, 5x degrees, and 4x degrees, what is the value of x?

ANSWER: x equals 30 degrees

10B. What king expanded the Second Temple during his reign between 37 and 4 BC, but is far better known for allegedly ordering the Massacre of the Innocents?

ANSWER: Herod the Great or Herod I

Third period, 15 toss-ups, 10 points each

1. This group forced out Revilo Oliver for his anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. However, its ‘Get Us Out’ campaign puts the United Nations at the center of several conspiracies, and it believed that the Communist conspiracy had co-opted Dwight Eisenhower. What far-right group was first led by Robert Welch, Jr., and is named for an American missionary killed by the Communists in China?

ANSWER: John Birch Society

2. Its northern end lies in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, and one portion contains both the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Mantle plumes here have caused the continental crust to thin to 20 kilometers in thickness, and have created hotspots that formed mountains like Mount Kilamanjaro. Home to Lake Victoria, this is what divergent boundary in southwest Asia and eastern Africa?

ANSWER: Great Rift Valley

3. THIS IS A COMPUTATION QUESTION. What is the complex product of 6 plus 5i and 2 minus 7i, given that this is equal to combining terms in the expression 12 minus 42i plus 10i minus 35i squared?

ANSWER: 47 minus 32i

4. Figures praised in this poem include Archduke Leopold, Edward Coke, and Confucius. Sections 52 through 61 of this poem contain Chinese characters. They are followed by ten sections on the life of John Adams. Sections 72 and 73 are in Italian, and as can be expected, include a great deal of praise for Benito Mussolini. What poem with 120 sections is the most famous work of Ezra Pound?

ANSWER: Cantos (Ezra Pound)

5. In 1950, this actor was charged with assault against two women trying to steal his 22-pound stuffed panda; the charges were dismissed. He was typecast as a gangster but a role in High Sierra propelled his career. While filming To Have and Have Not, he met his fourth wife, Lauren Bacall. What actor starred as Fred C. Dobbs in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Charlie Allnutt in The African Queen, and Rick Blaine in Casablanca?

ANSWER: Humphrey Bogart

6. He prompted the formation of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, and is believed to be the author of the ‘From Hell’ letter, although the ‘Dear Boss’ letter is believed to be a forgery. Arthur Conan Doyle thought ‘he’ was a ‘she.’ Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly were the five victims of what notorious murderer who in 1888 terrorized London?

ANSWER: Jack the Ripper

7. In his freshman year, this Warwick High graduate led a one-minute drive that ended with a Shayne Graham field goal, defeating West Virginia. He finished third in Heisman trophy voting that year, the highest ever for a freshman at the time, and was the number one pick in 2001. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell effectively suspended what Atlanta Falcons quarterback in July 2007 following allegations of dogfighting?

ANSWER: Michael Vick

8. This punctuation mark was used, along with the slash and the period, by William Caxton, the first printer of books in English. Later on, it became used to represent a pause four times as long as a comma. What punctuation mark is now used to introduce a list within a sentence, to separate parts of a ratio, to separate Bible chapter and verse, and to indicate the time?

ANSWER: colon

9. First formulated by Roger Penrose in 1969, its falseness could result in the breaking down of causality; its trueness would be a victory for determinism. Name this hypothesis whose weak form states that causal future of any singularity cannot extend to future null infinity and whose strong form states that there are no naked singularities.

ANSWER: cosmic censorship principle or hypothesis

10. This four-letter word comes to us from a Germanic word meaning ‘fastener.’ It can refer to the collection of things needed to ride a horse, such as saddle, bridle, and reins. It can be put after ‘hard’ to refer to the semi-edible biscuit eaten on long voyages, or to turning the bow of the ship through the wind in order to change direction. What word also refers to small, sharp nails put in place with the thumb?

ANSWER: tack

11. In 2006, this country’s politics were shaken up as the Moderate, Centre, Liberal People’s, and Christian Democrat parties formed an Alliance, and defeated the Social Democrats. This threatens to break up its legendary welfare system but not end its neutrality. The Riksdag is the 349-member unicameral parliament of what country whose monarch is Carl XVI Gustaf?

ANSWER: political system of Sweden

12. Her name means ‘not exalted’ in Hebrew. She was the daughter of Ithobaal I of Tyre (teer) and had two sons, Ahaziah and Jehoram with her husband, Ahab. She slaughtered the prophets of the Lord, and was accused of abominations by Elijah. However, she was eaten by dogs after Jehu told her servants to push her out the window. Who was this most wicked of Biblical women?

ANSWER: Jezebel

13. The company that makes them today trades under the stock symbol LVB. In World War II, its factory in Hamburg was nearly destroyed, while its New York factory made the parachute-ready Victory Vertical, which provided music to GI’s. Sergei (sair-ghee) Rachmaninoff (rak-mah-nih-off) owned two D-274 models, which are also present in most of the world’s concert halls. Who are these legendary makers of luxurious pianos?

ANSWER: Steinway and Sons (accept Steinway Musical Instruments)

14. Like Earth's moon, it is has one side always facing its host planet. Galileo's images of it include shots of various ridges, whose origins are thought to be of volcanic or cryovolcanic origin. It has been identified as one of the most likely candidates for extraterrestrial life, based on its thin oxygen atmosphere and icy surface. Separated from its planet only by Io is what moon, the smallest of the Galilean Moons orbiting Jupiter?

ANSWER: Europa

15. His novel, Georges (zhorzh), addressed the issues of race and colonialism as he was one-quarter black and three-quarters French. In 2005, his unfinished novel The Knight of Sainte-Hermine (sawnt-air-meen) was completed. His adaptation of Hoffman’s The Nutcracker was set to music by Tchaikowsky. Who is best-known, however, for writing Twenty Years After, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Three Musketeers?

ANSWER: Alexandre Dumas, père (accept ‘the elder’ instead of père)

Spare questions

Be sure to mark off questions as they are used. Replace, when possible, a discarded question with a spare in that area (i.e. science for science, English for English, etc.)

1. In 1992, this team acquired Charles Barkley from Philadelphia. Their mascot, Go, was replaced in 2002 with an inflatable version named Hairy. They used their first pick in the 1996 draft to pick up a guard from Santa Clara University, traded him away in 1998, and then signed him as a free agent in 2004. What team, the 1993 Western Conference champs, is home to Amare Stoudemire and 2-time NBA MVP Steve Nash?

ANSWER: Phoenix Suns (Accept either)

2. In 1981, this book’s ‘Bad Tuesday’ chapter was re-written to eliminate racial stereotypes. P.L. Travers created the title character as the replacement for Katie Nana at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, where the five Banks children live – Annabel, John, Barbara, Jane, and Michael. A carpetbag and umbrella are the main possessions of what book’s title character, a magical nanny?

ANSWER: Mary Poppins

3. THIS IS A COMPUTATION QUESTION. What is the remainder when 16,372 is divided by 7, given that 14,000, 2100, and 210 are all evenly divisible by 7?

ANSWER: six

4. It can cause and be contributed to by paradoxical undressing. It has three stages of severity: stage three can have major organ failure and death, stage two has blue extremities, and stage one has goose bumps and shivering. Name this condition where an organism’s temperature is below normal.

ANSWER: hypothermia

5. They can charge 12(b)-1 (twelve-bee-one) fees and management fees, which are referred to as ‘load.’ Their legal name is an ‘open-end company’ and they are regulated by the Investment Company Act of 1940. In the 1960s, the first ones that mirrored a stock index were created. Each day, they calculate their Net Asset Value. What investment instruments buy a bundle of stocks and are bought in IRAs and 401(k) plans?

ANSWER: mutual fund(s)

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