Illinois Earlybird 2007
Round 1
Tossups
1. Consider the following vectors: 1 i plus 1 j, 5 i, and -1 i plus -1 j plus -1 k. Find the volume of the parallelepiped enclosed by these vectors. One way to do this is to compute the scalar triple product of these vectors, which is the cross product of two of the vectors and dotted into the third vector. Another other way would be to note the base of the shape is in the plane, calculate its area, then multiply that by the figure's height, which is given in the vectors. FTP, compute this volume, noting that the figure's height is 1.
ANSWER: 5
2. The day after this event, Richard Whitney was chosen by some affected by it to try and negate its consequences by surreptitiously placing over-market-value bids, but this gambit only succeeded for a few days. By the subsequent Tuesday, the market had lost over $30 billion. FTP name this event, taking place on Thursday, October 24, which started the slide in stock prices that preceded the Great Depression.
ANSWER: Black Thursday (or Wall Street Crash of 1929; accept clear-knowledge equivalents)
3. The Sakur-Tetrode equation can be used to calculate this quantity for an ideal gas. For an ensemble of particles, the microscopic version of this quantity is proportional to the number of microstates. According to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, this quantity can never decrease in an isolated system. FTP, identify this thermodynamic quantity, often symbolized S, that is a measure of disorder, or randomness, in a system.
Answer: entropy
4. In the election of this year, the supporters of both the first- and second-place finishers backed John Calhoun for Vice-President, allowing him to win easily. William Crawford was nominated by the Congressional caucus, but he came in third place. In fourth was “The Great Compromiser,” Henry Clay, who then worked a deal to get John Quincy Adams elected over Andrew Jackson, although Jackson won a plurality of electoral votes. FTP, name the year of this U.S. Presidential election, in which Jackson's supporters alleged Clay made a “corrupt bargain” with Adams.
ANSWER: the U.S. presidential election of 1824
5. Formed in 1985, this band’s latest album is 2006’s Beyond Hell. This pioneering shock rock band features Flattus Maximus on lead guitar and Oderus Urungus on vocals. Known for over-the-top theatrics and spraying their audience with fake blood and other fluids, they don enormous fantasy-inspired costumes during their concerts, which feature elaborate stage shows that frequently lampoon celebrities and politicians. FTP, identify this metal band famous for their absurdly raunchy and obscene lyrics.
Answer: GWAR
6. For one process in liquids, this quantity is approximately 10.5 times RT, a fact known as Trouton’s Rule. One for crystals can be measured by Born-Haber cycle and is known as the lattice energy. In all substances, it is the energy required to make or break bonds between molecules in a phase change. FTP, identify this amount of energy that goes into a substance that doesn’t change its temperature but rather is necessary to effect a phase change, examples of which exist for fusion and vaporization.
ANSWER: latent heat or (enthalpy of phase change)
7. As Louis de Montalte, this person apologized for Arnauld and defended Jansenism in a series of works written from Port-Royale. One of his best-known works was compiled from scraps containing the namesake Thoughts or Pensées. In the Provincial Letters, this thinker argued that one must believe in god because the potential payoff for doing so is infinite in his namesake wager. FTP, name this 17th-century French philosopher.
ANSWER: Blaise Pascal
8. Their initial headquarters was the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, but they eventually spread across the whole of Western Europe as well as the Holy Land. King Philip IV, deeply in debt to the order, began arresting members of the Order, torturing confessions out of them, and burning them at the stake. The full name of their order was the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon. FTP, name this order of Crusading Knights, legends of which have made their way into such works as the Da Vinci Code.
ANSWER: the Knights Templar (accept Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon before it’s mentioned)
9. In this work, the Mr. Norton is mistakenly introduced to the impregnator of his daughter. One character in this novel advises his grandson to overcome his enemies “with yeses…” Dr. Bledsoe writes the protagonist an insult-laden letter of recommendation. Late in this novel, the narrator’s talent is discovered by an organization led by Brother Jackson; his involvement in that organization leads him to kill Rinehart and Ras. FTP, identify this novel by Richard Wright with an unnamed and perhaps unseen narrator.
ANSWER: Invisible Man (do not accept or prompt on The Invisible Man)
10. In this school of thought, the IS-LM model is used to demonstrate how nominal wages and prices do not clear in the short run, in other words, that they are sticky. Contrary to classical theory, this school argues that the economy is not operating at full capacity, so there can be a small increase in output without inflation. They also argue that there is no natural tendency to move towards full employment and therefore that the government must intervene, a theory which came into prominence during the Great Depression. FTP, name this school of macroeconomics whose British founder once proclaimed “In the long run, we are all dead.”
ANSWER: the Keynesian School of economics
11. This work is sometimes called “the Pieta of the Revolution.” The circumstances surrounding the events of this artwork are accurate, but the figure himself is idealized, as he displays none of his skin problems. The plain background helps emphasize the objects, including a letter, a quill, and a knife. The paper clutched in the figure’s hand is the note carried by the person who committed the action in question, Charlotte Corday. FTP, name this painting which depicts the death in a bathtub of a leader of the French Revolution, a work by Jacques-Louis David.
ANSWER: The Death of Marat
12. The founder of this dynasty ordered a confiscation of weapons and national conscription was instituted, every male was required to serve one year in the army. During its 15-year reign, this dynasty initiated several public work projects, including canals, bridges, and the Great Wall of China. FTP, give the name of this Chinese dynasty, from 221 to 206 BCE, during which the First Emperor, Shih Huang Di, unified China.
ANSWER: the Qin Dynasty
13. Thomas of Celano’s [say-LA-no] biography of this person has the rebuilding of San Damiano [dam-ee-ON-oh] before inspiration by Matthew 10:7-11. This man’s sermon to the birds is a popular motif in art, where he is often depicted with the stigmata he received around Christmas, 1223. This figure is nicknamed the Poberello [poe-buh-REL-low] due to his vow of poverty. FTP, name this Catholic saint who founded the Friars Minor, his namesake order of priests; an Italian from Assisi.
ANSWER: Saint Francis of Assisi (or San Francesco d’Assisi or Francesco di Pietro di Bernardone or Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone)
14. In this work, the Board of Aldermen calls a special meeting to discuss a character not paying taxes, and the narrator also comments about great-aunt Wyatt, another member of the Grierson family. Eventually a black foreman moves in with the protagonist. The local druggist suspects something when the title character asks for arsenic, and it is suggested that she used it to kill Homer Barron. FTP, identify this William Faulkner short story in which an old woman likes to lay in bed with a corpse.
ANSWER: “A Rose for Emily”
15. This person’s spiritual works Paulus and Elijah belie his reputation for shallowness. This artist’s endeavors as a conductor include founding the Leipzig Gewandhaus [guh-VAHND-house] Orchestra and a 1829 performance of the St. Matthew Passion that reinvigorated interest in Bach. Composer of the “Italian” and “Scottish” symphonies, his works include the Songs without Words. FTP, name this romantic whose programmatic music include the Heberdies Overture [HEH-bur-dees] and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which contains the famous “Wedding March”.
ANSWER: Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
16. Among these type of organisms, only S. pombe reproduces by fission. Perhaps the best-known single type of these is S. cerevisiae. Although they do not form a specific taxonomic grouping, these eukaryotic microorganisms are found in the fungi kingdom. They are unicellular and generally reproduce by budding. Some are opportunistic pathogens that can create infections in humans, while the more common varieties are used in fermentation of alcoholic beverages. FTP, identify these unicellular fungi that make baked goods rise.
ANSWER: yeasts
17. This deity produced children by spitting out pieces of a sibling’s sword as an act of good faith, but later, that same brother would scare this divinity via a flayed horse. In charge of the High Celestial Plain, she was born from the left eye of her father. Manifested in a mirror that is one of the three Imperial Treasures, she was fooled by the dancing of Uzume and, after sneaking a peek, she was captured with a rope of rice straw to prevent her from retreating back into a cave. FTP, identify this sister of Susanoo and Japanese Shinto sun goddess.
ANSWER: Amaterasu
18. The STL contains a priority version of these items, which it can implement as singly linked lists. Structures of this generic type are added to by their namesake en- operation and removed from by their namesake de- operation. They operate on a first-in, first-out basis, opposite of stacks. FTP, name these computer data structures with a name that means “lines” in British English.
ANSWER: queues
19. In the Symposium, this person claims that loves results because people are two halves separated by a thunderbolt. In some of his own works, people seek to raise a goddess from a pit; Pisthetairos and Euelpedes found a city in the sky; Dionysius travels to Hades because he is unable to find any tragedians above ground; and the women of Greece deny their husbands sex until peace is achieved. FTP, name this author of Peace, The Frogs, The Birds, and Lysistrata; the greatest ancient Greek comedian.
ANSWER: Aristophanes
20. This work’s protagonist successfully unseats Bois-Guilbert [BWAH geel-BAERH], after which he declares his beloved the Queen of Love and Beauty. That woman, who is later accused of witchcraft but saved by a mysterious man in black, is the ward of Cedric the Saxon, who banishes the title character. In the end, King Richard returns from Palestine, Isaac and Rebecca leave for Granada, and Sir Wilfred and Lady Rowena are married. FTP, name this novel about a knight by Sir Walter Scott.
ANSWER: Ivanhoe
21. The government here has jurisdiction over part of the Pescadores as well as Quemly Island and Matsu Island. It is separated from the Philippines via the Bashi Channel. The Central Range runs north to south along it, and its highest point is at Yu Shan. Made up of eighteen hsien and formerly known as Formosa, FTP, identify this island that is trying to escape from under the iron boot of China.
ANSWER: Taiwan (accept Formosa before it’s mentioned)
Illinois Earlybird 2007
Round 1
Bonuses
1. Identify each of the following components of an electric circuit FTPE.
[10] This wire coil serves to resist change in current and stores energy in its magnetic field.
ANSWER: inductor
[10] This component allows current to flow in one direction, but limits it in the other. Modern ones are often made from semiconductors.
ANSWER: diode
[10] This variable resistor often has three contacts and can act as a voltage divider.
ANSWER: potentiometer
2. Answer the following questions about TV shows that were cancelled at the end of the 2006-07 season FTPE.
[10] This show about the Camden family had been cancelled by the WB, but was bought back by the CW, then finally cancelled.
Answer: 7th Heaven
[10] If this CW show had been renewed, there would have been significant changes including the titular character entering the FBI, but her freshman year at Hearst College would be this show’s last.
Answer: Veronica Mars
[10] This HBO historical drama had a reduced second season order, condensing historical events, and it ended with the triumph of Octavian and Atia smacking down Livia.
Answer: Rome
3. If you need proof of politicians being two-faced, look no farther than this bonus. FTPE…
[10] During the French Revolution, he was able to have his name removed from the list of émigrés. Foreign minister during the XYZ Affair, he was appointed Grand Chamberlain upon the proclamation of Napoleon as Emperor.
ANSWER: Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand
[10] In the 1840’s, he had a reputation as a backwoods conservative. After being appointed Prime Minister, he appeared to seek a compromise in the conflict between the liberal Parliament and Wilhelm I, but ended up engineering the creation of a Prussian-led German state.
ANSWER: Otto von Bismarck
[10] He led the forces that repelled the German offensive at the Battle of Verdun, but agreed to surrender to the Germans during WWII and was put in charge of the Vichy government until Charles de Gaulle came to power.
ANSWRE: Henri-Philippe Petain
4. Identify the following about a sociological concept and its formulator FTPE.
[10] This concept from sociology is defined as a social instability or loss of purpose as a result of the erosion of standards or ideals.