Now, how do you think you would do? Today, I am going to post 100 questions spanning 5 rounds of today's tournament. Do you think you can answer all of the questions correctly? Or another way of saying it.....
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN AN 8TH GRADER?!?!??!??!
The entire tournament is here, save for the semifinal and final rounds. I will post the semifinals later along with the answers to these 5 rounds in the coming days. The final round itself is a multimedia project and not in my possession.
Good luck!
ROUND 1
We begin this 20-question round with some general knowledge
1) What is the only bird that can fly backwards?
2) In musical notation, what symbol indicates to the musician that it is time to take a break?
3) Dallas has the Cowboys, and Houston has the Texans, but there used to be a time when there was a team called the Dallas Texans. They moved to Kansas City. What are they called now?
4) The surface area of what space figure is determined by the formula 4-pi-r-squared?
5) In the 2010 film Inception, what small toy did Leonardo DiCaprio’s character use as a “totem” to tell him that the dream he was experiencing was in fact his?
The next 5 questions all have to do with colleges and universities in the state of Maryland. I will provide you with the city or town in which the college is located. You tell me the college.
6) Westminster
7) Bowie
8) Frederick
9) Princess Anne
10) Emmitsburg
For the next 5 questions, we will now give you the college, and you provide the state where you will find that college.
11) Stanford
12) Yale
13) Rutgers
14) Harvard
15) George Mason
The answers to the next 5 questions will all have something in common. You need to remember what this something in common is for a future round.
16) What tropical bird is well known for its ability to mimic human speech? “Polly want a cracker!”
17) When you come up with an invention, what do you need to get in order to protect your invention and make sure that nobody else profits from your idea?
18) As defined in the 1995 Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary, this is the “use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s original work. If I didn’t cite my source, I’d be doing this right now!
19) What classic arcade game involved chomping on “power pellets” and evading “ghost monsters:” Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde?
20) What NFL Team has won the most Super Bowls?
We start with some math! (Do not write any equations on the blackboard or whiteboard. Teams may use paper and pencil to solve problems).
1) Solve for x if 3x – 15 = 75
2) Consider the number 3,493,784.65 (READ three million, four hundred ninety-three thousand, seven hundred eighty-four and sixty-five hundredths). What digit is in the ten-thousands place?
3) What is the perimeter of a regular pentagon that has side length of 3.5 units?
4) What is the slope of the linear equation y = -x/2 + 7?
5) What is the principal square root of 289?
These next 5 questions all deal with State Capitals.
6) What is the only state capital with three separate words in its name?
7) What are the only 2 state capitals located on islands?
8) What 2 state capitals served as capitals of the Confederacy at some point during the American Civil War?
9) What is the capital of the largest state in the continental USA?
10) What US state capital is geographically closest to the US National Capital?
11) What sporting discipline did Alberto Tomba, Tommy Moe, and Lindsey Vonn specialize in at the Olympics?
12) This pitcher holds the Major League Baseball record for the most no hitters in a career with 7, 3 more than any other pitcher. Who is it?
13) How many of the 50 States begin with a vowel?
14) What was the 49th State admitted to the union in 1959?
15) Which military conflict which involved the United States was fought in the 1960s and 1970s?
OK…theme time. These next 5 questions will follow a theme. You need to remember that theme for later in the game.
16) Which continent is bordered on the east by the Ural Mountains, on the South by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the West by the Atlantic Ocean?
17) In timekeeping, what does EST stand for?
18) Which country is currently in a state of turmoil as its citizens ousted President Hosni Mubarak and are ushering in a new form of government?
19) Government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are known as these, because it is thought that people have a right to their benefits. What are these types of programs called?
20) What document did President Abraham Lincoln sign on January 1st 1863, effectively freeing the slaves in states in rebellion?
ROUND 3
Rivers, rivers, and more rivers: I guess it’s safe to say that the category for the first 5 questions of this round is Rivers.
1) The states of Kentucky and West Virginia form the Southern bank and the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio form the Northern bank of this river which starts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
-Ohio River
2) This is not the longest river in the world, but has the largest discharge rate of any river. Name it.
-Amazon River
3) This river close to home rises at the “Fairfax Stone” in West Virginia. It empties into the Chesapeake Bay at Point Lookout, MD. What is this river?
-Potomac River
4) What European River famously flows through London, England, and is crossed by Tower Bridge?
-River Thames
5) This river forms part of the boundary between the United States and Canada, but mostly flows through Quebec. Lake Ontario empties into it. What is it?
-St. Lawrence River
The next five questions all deal with time:
6) How many seconds are there in a day?
-86,400
7) In the 21st Century how many days total are there in any 4 year span?
-1461 days
8) If a plane left BWI at 10:30AM and landed at LAX at 12:40PM, in order to call home in Ellicott City, after dinner, at 6:30PM, what time should they call from San Diego?
-3:30 PM
9) If it takes 3 minutes to boil one egg, how long does it take to boil 3 eggs in the same pot?
-3 minutes
10) How many minutes are there in a week?
-10,080 minutes
SUBSTITUTES IN
Back to general knowledge for a few more questions…
11) What reddish-orange colored suspension bridge links the city of San Francisco with Marin County, CA?
12) Quick math! What is the principal square root of 64 multiplied by the principal square root of 4?
13) What famous Harper Lee work included characters such as Jem, Scout, and Atticus Finch?
14) At the 2011 Grammy Awards, who took home the Record of the Year with their hit “Need you Now?
15) In the American Civil War, which of the following was NOT a Union general at some point during the war?
a. Ulysses Grant
b. George McClellan
c. George Meade
d. George Pickett
Here are five questions that deal with the theme we introduced back in round 1:
16) What mammal in Spanish means “little armored one” and typically lives in Latin America?
17) What were the last names of first two astronauts to walk on the moon?
18) What was the first video gaming system to be able to hook up to home television?
19) What is the name of the U.S. Army’s oldest active proving installation, and it’s located in Maryland?
20) Who in Greek mythology was dipped in the river Styx to make him immortal but had one spot on his body which left him vulnerable?
ROUND 4Let’s start this round with some questions about everybody’s favorite…European Countries!
1) The United Kingdom is actually made up of 4 different countries. Name 3 of them.
2) Which country was ruled in the past by royals by the name of Louis and Napoleon?
3) Vatican City is actually its own little country, politically independent from the surrounding city. What city surrounds Vatican City?
4) What three countries make up the “Benelux” Countries?
5) Most people associate Norway and Sweden with Scandinavia, but actually there are 3 other countries that are part of that European region. Name 2 of them.
Enough about Europe…this next series of questions are not about math, but the answer to each will include a number.
6) According to the Book of Revelation, who will initiate a divine apocalypse that will signal the beginning of the Last Judgment?
7) What is another name for the playing card game blackjack?
8) What is the only Interstate Highway that passes through each of the original 13 colonies?
9) What household cleaning product gets its name because it took the developers this many tries to get the formula right?
10) What was the name of the NASA space mission which first landed men on the moon?
Back to general knowledge for 5 questions:
11) Which Renaissance artist is credited with works such as The Mona Lisa, the Last Supper, and is also credited with an initial drawing of a “Flying Machine?”
12) Which of the following amendments to the US Constitution is NOT considered part of the original Bill of Rights?
a. Amendment I (Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion, Peaceably Assemble)
b. Amendment IV (Illegal Search and Seizure)
c. Amendment VIII (Protection from cruel and unusual punishment)
d. Amendment XIII (Outlawing slavery)
13) The bloodiest one-day battle in the American Civil war was fought in the State of Maryland in 1862. What was the battle?
14) With over 100 million copies sold, what Michael Jackson album is the best-selling album of all time?
15) In what two states will you find the termini of the Appalachian Trial?
OK…last 5 questions…here comes that theme again! Pay attention.
16) What Central American country is located in between Panama and Nicaragua?
17) What geometric figure is the intersection of a non-tangent plane with a sphere?
18) From what city did the Baltimore Ravens relocate after the 1996 NFL Season?
19) What green vegetable is grown on a vine, is 96% water, and has a tendency to climb up fences and other support structures? Small ones of these are usually turned into pickles.
20) Which element on the periodic table is the main element in organic compounds such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats?
ROUND 5
We begin this 5th and final round with five questions about everybody’s favorite student at Hogwarts: Harry Potter!
1) In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, who is the only known person to create the Philosopher’s Stone?
2) In "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" we learn that Salazar Slytherin created a secret Chamber where he kept a monster to kill muggle-borns in Hogwarts. A girl was murdered by the monster. What kind of monster lives inside the Chamber of Secrets?
3) In "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" Professor Remus Lupin teaches in his Defence Against the Dark Arts class how to repel boggarts. What is Lupin's boggart?
4) In "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", who was Harry supposed to rescue in the Second Task?
5) In 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' we learn that two Death Eaters, who are brother and sister, have taken the jobs of Defense Against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies. What are their names?
The writer of these rounds is admittedly not a fan of Harry Potter. So, having now satisfied your hunger for Harry Potter with 5 questions, he is now ready to move on to 9 questions about something that interests him. SCIENCE!!!
You can stop cheering now J
6) What is the organelle responsible for manufacturing proteins for cells using instructions provided by DNA and RNA?
7) The Sun is known as a “fusion factory,” where two atoms of one element fuse together to form a new element. What are the two elements that make up the vast majority of the matter in the Sun?
8) Which of Earth’s oceans is the only ocean to have its very own tectonic plate?
9) What is the scale (between 0 and 14) used to measure the acidity or basicity of certain chemicals?
10) The Chesapeake Bay is the largest one of these in the United States, a place where fresh and salt water meet.
11) What group of mammals is well known for using pouches to protect their young? They are mostly found in Australia.
12) What am I describing? This is the natural force of attraction between any two objects. On a small scale it is negligible, but on a large scale it is responsible for planetary orbits and keeping our feet on the ground…literally.
13) What famous scientist is responsible for discovering the relationship E = mc squared?
14) What compound, abbreviated by the symbol NaCl, is the primary compound found in the mineral halite. Oh yes, you can also use it on food.
That felt good! I got it out of my system. OK, time for 5 more questions related to that theme we discussed at the beginning of the game.
15) What South American country is so named because of its location on the Equator?
16) Also known as “paramedics,” these people are ambulance drivers. They are the first ones to respond to any medical emergency. Who am I talking about?
17) What African country was conquered by Mussolini’s Italy in 1935?
18) What is the name of the electronic toll collection system used to collect tolls from Virginia to Illinois to Massachusetts?
19) Who was the famous Viking who founded the first Nordic settlement on the island of Greenland?
20) You knew it was coming. The last 5 questions of each round all started with the same letter. Those letters spelled a 5-letter word. What word did we spell from the first letters to the answers of the last 5 questions of each round?
Well, hope it's not too tough!
Mac is a robot anyway. He died 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI just noticed that I did not black out the answers to the questions in Round 3. Oh well, consider that your freebie.
ReplyDeletePEACE! And what the hell is the second island state capital (besides Honolulu)?
ReplyDeleteYou're proud of yourself that you got that aren't you, haha?
ReplyDeleteThe second island capital is Juneau, AK
I considered that, but then I looked it up on my trusty Google Maps. "Downtown Juneau," which includes the state capitol, is on the mainland, homey. "West Juneau" is on the adjacent island. I don't know if they're technically two different municipalities, but the capitol building is basically in Canada, so I'm gonna have to say that's a trick question and call bullshit on you.
ReplyDelete