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



These questions are for use in the Virginia High School League’s Scholastic Bowl competition at the Region level. Shawn Pickrell, Marian Suter, Adam Fine, Chris Moretti, Susan Gallaher and Ross Irwin are the authors of these questions.

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

(a) Release of these questions to any entity not affiliated with the Region competition or the schools that are members of the given Region, without prior approval of Shawn Pickrell, is prohibited. This is meant to keep question security.

(b) The discussion or other reference to these questions with other entities in the Commonwealth of Virginia that are associated in any way with the Scholastic Bowl competition before all Region champions have been determined is prohibited. This is also meant to keep question security.

(c) These questions may not be released AT ANY TIME to entities outside the Commonwealth of Virginia, except with prior approval of Shawn Pickrell. Discussion of these questions, however, is permitted between entities within and without the Commonwealth of Virginia This will apply to ANY entity in the Commonwealth of Virginia that receives these questions, be it directly from Shawn Pickrell or indirectly through various means.

First period: 15 tossups, worth 10 points

1. These two endocrine glands secrete a hormone that causes our hearts to beat faster. It also causes us to breathe faster, and in general gets a body ready for flight or fight. What are these glands on top of the kidneys called?

ANSWER: _Adrenal_ glands

2. In the early part of the Civil war, he commanded a brigade from Texas that was named for him. In late 1864, he invaded Tennessee, but after losing the battles of Franklin and Nashville, his army essentially disintegrated. Who was this Confederate general that lost three battles in summer 1864 and then had to evacuate Atlanta?

answer: John Bell _Hood_

3. Her husband was the economist Paul Taylor, with whom she collaborated on _An American Exodus: A Record of Human Erosion_. She opened a photography studio in San Francisco in 1916, where she took pictures of homeless men on the streets. Who was this woman who also shot photos of Japanese internment prisoners and portraits of Oklahoma Dust Bowl refugees, such as _Migrant Mother_?

ANSWER: Dorothea _Lange_

4. The work of this British animal behaviorist has led to an appreciation of individual differences among nonhuman primates and the discovery of tool use and man-eating among chimpanzees. Name this woman whose writings include My Friends the Wild Chimpanzees, In the Shadow of Man, and The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior, a summary of her research.

ANSWER: Jane _ Goodall _

5. The suit of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce began with a dispute as to how the trusts under a Jarndyce will were to be administered. Supporting characters include Harold Skimpole and the narrator Esther Summerson. Name this satire written by Charles Dickens that is about as hopeless as its title

ANSWER: _ Bleak House _

6. The most famous comment directed to him was from Army lawyer Joseph Welch: "Have you no sense of decency, sir?" In 1995, when CIA intelligence was declassified, it turned out he had _underestimated_ the extent of Soviet espionage in the US. Who was this Red-baiting Senator from Wisconsin?

answer: Joseph _McCarthy_

7. In what Eugene O'Neill drama will you find the characters General Ezra Mannon, his wife Christine, their children Lavinia and Orin, and Christine's lover, Captain Adam Brant? The work is loosely based on Aeschylus's triology Oresteia.

ANSWER: _ Mourning Becomes Electra _

8. What is the number of atoms represented in the formula aluminum hydroxide?

ANSWER: _7_

9. According to Addie's father, "The reason for living was to get ready to stay dead a long time." In what William Faulkner novel will you meet Anse and Addie Bundren?

ANSWER: _ As I Lay Dying _

10. On this show, John Enos III plays Bobby Marsino, the former owner of a strip club whose brother was accidentally shot by Nikki Newman when they were children. Shemar Moore has recently returned in the role of Malcolm Winters, much to the chagrin of his sister-in-law Drucilla. What is this program airing in the early afternoon on CBS, the #1 rated daytime soap opera?

ANSWER: "The _Young and the Restless"_

11. What two Latin words do philosophers and logicians use before the words Invidiam [in-vih-DEE-um], Metum [may-TUM], Odium [oh-DEE-um], Misericordiam [mih-zeh-rih-COR-dee-um] and Hominem [HAW-mih-nem] when referring to an illogical line of reasoning?

answer: _argumentum ad_

12. He has had nineteen holes-in-one in his career, the last in Turnberry at a British Senior Open pro-am event in 2003. _Golf World_ magazine's architect of the year in 1993, he is better known for his 113 worldwide victories, including eighteen PGA Tour majors. Winner of the Masters at age 46, who is this golfer nicknamed The Golden Bear, whose records have been targeted by Tiger Woods?

ANSWER: Jack _Nicklaus_

13. It originally comes from a Latin verb that means "to hang," but our usage of the word comes from a French verb that means "to incline." What is this eight-letter noun that means a strong liking or inclination?

ANSWER: _ Penchant _

14. The two GUIs with this operating system are called OpenWindows and Common Desktop Environment. In February 2005, version 10 will be released of -- what operating system developed by Sun Microsystems?

answer: _Solaris_ (prompt on _SunOS_)

15. His daughter, Cornelia, was the mother of the Gracchi brothers. After winning several battles in Spain, he was named consul in 205 BC and assigned to Sicily, where he raised an army to take the war to Carthage's home turf. Who was this Roman general that won the battle of Zama in 202 BC?

answer: Publius Cornelius _Scipio Africanus_ Major

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

Questions with an “A” after their number will be read to the team that selects set A of questions; questions with a “B” after their number will be read to the team that selects set B of questions.

1A. What winged horse owned by Bellerophon was born from blood spilled from the severed head of Medusa?

ANSWER: _Pegasus_

1B. If sea level could rise by 500 feet, what state would become completely submerged first?

ANSWER: _Florida_

2A. Our body cells are bathed in a fluid that is much like plasma, and in fact does come from plasma. What is this fluid called?

ANSWER: _lymph_

2B. What mountain chain in Utah runs east-west for about 100 miles east of Salt Lake City?

answer: _Uinta_ Mountains

3A. What river, one of the world's longest, forms most of the border between Manchuria and the Russian Far East?

answer: _Amur_

3B. THIS IS A COMPUTATION QUESTION. What is the center of an ellipse with equation (x-2)^2 /9 + (y+1)^2 /4 = 1 [quantity x minus 2 squared divided by 9 plus quantity y plus 1 squared divided by 4 equals 1]?

ANSWER: _(2,-1)_

4A. What is the Latin term that refers to one who has retired after long service? It is most commonly used with the word professor.

ANSWER: _ Emeritus _

4B. Which 1931 painting by Salvador Dali features ants crawling across a pocket watch as well as limp, melting clocks?

ANSWER: The _Persistence of Memory_

5A. THIS IS A COMPUTATION QUESTION. What is the largest amount of American currency that one can hold without having change for a dollar?

ANSWER: _$1.19_ (3Q, 4D, 4P ... or 1H, 1Q, 4D, 4P)

5B. Name the monumental work by Sir Thomas Malory that made the Arthurian cycle available for the first time in English.

ANSWER: _ Le Morte D'Arthur _

6A. Bacon's Rebellion was fought against the Governorship of -- what colonial Governor?

answer: (Sir) William _Berkeley_ (accept "Lord Berkeley")

6B. Name the Jewish American author who wrote Herzog, Mr. Sammler's Planet, and Humboldt's Gift.

ANSWER: Saul _ Bellow _

7A. THIS IS A COMPUTATION QUESTION. An alphanumeric translation is set up such that A = 1, B = 2, ... Z = 26. What is the sum of the values of the letters in the word GAME?

ANSWER: _26_

7B. THIS IS A COMPUTATION QUESTION. If the empirical formula of a substance is CH2, and its molecular mass is 56, what is its chemical name?

ANSWER: _butene_ [bew-TEEN] (C4H8)

8A. Likely a favorite of Martin Prince, which cable network is home to the shows "American Chopper," "Monster Garage," and "Myth Busters"?

ANSWER: The _Discovery Channel_

8B. What god's worship increased at the time of Hammurabi, was the patron deity of Babylon, and should not be confused with a comic-strip dog?

answer: _Marduk_ (as opposed to Marmaduke)

9A. Which German made his mark in the Northern Renaissance through woodcuts and wood engravings such as _Knight, Death, and the Devil_, _Melancholia_, and _St. Jerome in His Study_?

ANSWER: Albrecht _Durer_

9B. What people, whose name comes from the Navajo for "Ancient Ones" or "Ancient Enemy", built cliff-wall dwellings but moved away from them around 1200 AD when the climate changed?

answer: _Anasazi_ [ah-nah-SAH-zee] or _Ancient Pueblo_ People or _Ancestral Pueblonians_

10A. What name is given to a quantum mechanical system that can have more than one ground state, such as a hydrogen atom?

answer: _degenerate_

10B. Who is the governor of Tennessee?

answer: Phil _Bredesen_

Third period, 15 toss-ups, worth 10 points

1. Name either of the two scientists who, in 1953, created an ingenious experiment that simulated the earth's earliest atmosphere by using different gases, water and a spark (to simulate lightning), and found the product to be amino acids.

ANSWER: Stanley _Miller_ or Harold C. _Urey_

2. Ishmael Pasha paid the composer of this work 80,000 francs, a hefty sum in the 1860s. In the last of the four acts, Amneris, the daughter of the king, tries to save the warrior Rhadames [rah-DAH-meez], but Rhadames repulses her, and he is condemned to be buried alive. The title character, an Ethiopian princess, dies alongside Rhadames in which Giuseppe Verdi opera that celebrated the opening of the Suez Canal in 1871?

ANSWER: _"Aida"_ (eye-EE-dah)

3. In this book, John Watson, M.D., is wounded in an Afghan war and forced to retire from practice. A mutual friend introduces him to Sherlock Holmes and the rest, as they say, is history. In what work, the first of the Sherlock Holmes adventures, do Watson and Holmes meet?

ANSWER: A _ Study in Scarlet _

4. Virginia Delegate Glenn Oder from Newport News is offering a bill that will strengthen the existing law requiring the use of these safety devices. However, the police can cite a person for not using them only if they are pulled over for some other reason. What is this device whose use is encouraged by the American Automobile Association?

answer: _seatbelt_s or _safety belt_s

5. Turning the cards used in this test at an odd angle or covering parts of them are considered signs of brain damage, but turning the card 90, 180 or 270 degrees is a positive sign. What test consists of 10 oddly shaped drawings, called inkblots, and is named for the Swiss psychologist who devised it?

answer: _Rorschach_ test (accept "inkblot test" before inkblot is said)

6. THIS IS A COMPUTATION QUESTION. What is 7 over the difference x minus 2 plus 3 over the sum x plus 2 {7/(x-2) + 3/(x+2)}?

ANSWER: _10x + 8 / x2 - 4_ (10x plus eight divided by x-squared minus 4)

7. In recent years, scientists have divided bacteria into two different kingdoms. One of the kingdoms is Archaebacteria or Archaea, which cannot live in oxygen. What is the other kingdom of bacteria that includes the disease causing bacteria?

ANSWER: _Eubacteria_

8. If a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives wishes to avoid taking a position on an important vote, he or she can vote -- what status that indicates that he was there for the vote but did not take a position?

answer: _present_

9. In the sentence "There is much work to be done," what is the term for the word there, which has no actual or grammatical meaning?

ANSWER: _ Expletive _

10. Gardnerian, Dianic, Faery and Alexandrian are some of the main branches of this religion, which worships the Goddess and a God known as the Horned God. What is this religion whose Rede [REED], or chief rule, is "An it harm none, do what ye will?"

answer: _Wicca_ or _Wiccan_ (prompt on "witchcraft")

11. Nouns in this Indo-European language have two genders, common and neuter. There are four verb types. This language is spoken by the residents of the Aland [AH-land] Islands, located in the Gulf of Bothnia. What is this language also spoken in the province of Gotaland and the city of Stockholm?

answer: _Swedish_

12. It had steam turbines that enabled it to go at 21 knots, faster than any other ship then afloat. It spurred a naval arms race, and was already obsolescent by World War I, where the only action it saw was the sinking of a German submarine. What is this ship launched in 1906 that is today a synonym for any large naval vessel?

answer: HMS _Dreadnought_

13. The two-digit number used in this street gang's abbreviation represents its paid "taxes" to the Mexican Mafia and the two letters represent its origins in El Salvador. What is this street gang that has been making Northern Virginia its East Coast operating hub?

answer: _MS-13_ or _Mara Salvatrucha_ [MAH-rah sahl-vah-TROO-chah]

14. They interact through matter in three ways: the photoelectric effect, Compton scattering and pair production. They can be produced by an electron or positron annihilating each other. What is this form of energy usually released as radiation?

answer: _gamma_ ray or _gamma_ particle

15. Harold Holt, John Gorton, Edmund Barton, Robert Menzies, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating have all held -- what title that is currently held by John Howard?

answer: _Prime Minister_s of _Australia_ (accept "Australian Prime Minister(s)")

Spare questions

Try to replace the question discarded with the spare question in a subject area – i.e. science for science, social studies for social studies, etc.) Be sure to mark off the questions as they are used.

1. What function is the derivative of the velocity of an object?

answer: _acceleration_

2. The Sun's equinox position on the Zodiac is slowly changing over time. However, since Pisces is a big constellation, this cannot begin until around 2600 AD. Many New Age thinkers believe that once it begins, a new era of enlightenment will start. What is this concept usually associated with the hippie movement, or specifically a song by the Fifth Dimension?

answer: _Age of Aquarius_

3. Gilbert Martin marries Magdelana Borst in July, 1776, and they set off to settle farther west in their home at Deerfield in the titular river valley. Name this novel written by Walter D. Edmonds, made into a 1939 movie with Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert.

ANSWER: _ Drums Along the Mohawk _

4. What state is dominated by an eroded plateau -- like the Colorado Plateau -- of sedimentary rocks, but with river valleys that are relatively narrow and not as deep? These sedimentary rocks include abundant coal beds.

ANSWER: _West Virginia_

5. The treaty signed here in 843 divided the territory of the Carolingian Empire between the three sons of Louis the Pious. 1,073 years later, Henri [AWN-ree] Petain [PAY-tan] said, "They will not pass!" What is this French town, the site of a bloody World War I battle fought between February 21 and December 19, 1916?

answer: _Verdun_-sur-Meuse [ver-DUN syoor murz]

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