About One in 100,000 People Lacks One Entirely and the Largest One Ever Observed Was Removed
WashingtonUniversityHigh School Academic Challenge VIII
January 28, 2006
Round 3
Written by members of Washington University Academic Team
Edited by Lori Currier, Ryan Jacobson, Sean Phillips and Jon Pinyan
1. Its political system was laid out in its 1979 Constitution and it is made up of several governing bodies led by one Supreme Leader. Composed of 30 provinces, it is bordered by 7 nations, including Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and Turkey, and 3 bodies of water, including the Gulf of Oman. For 10 points, name this nation, which announced on January 13, 2006, that it is considering ending nuclear inspections by the IAEA and will continue its uranium enrichment program.
ANSWER: Iran
2. It must begin and end on a perfect consonance. The interval of a tenth should not be exceeded between the two parts, unless necessary. The interval of a tritone in three notes is to be avoided, as is the interval of a seventh in three notes. These are just three rules necessary to compose a piece of music in, for 10 points, what musical form that became popular in the Baroque period?
ANSWER: counterpoint (accept: contrapuntal)
3. Set in 1787, the title location is actually a glen in the northern part of a larger settlement. Contained in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., at the close of it, the main character’s horse, Gunpowder, is found without his saddle. As for Gunpowder’s master, only his hat is found and with the hat a shattered pumpkin. This is allegedly because he was a touch too threatening for Brom Bones’ tastes as they fought for the hand of Katrina van Tassel. For 10 points, what is this Washington Irving story about Ichabod Crane?
ANSWER: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
4. This flamboyant statesman, given the name 'Raven' by the Cherokee, is the only man to ever wear beads on the floor of the United States Senate. Over the course of his career he served as a military commander and as a senator and governor from two separate states. For 10 points, who is this man better known as the president of the short-lived Republic of Texas?
ANSWER: Sam Houston
5. After a career in advertising, he turned to writing full-time. He was awarded the Booker Prize, the British Commonwealth award for novel of the year, and later the ‘Booker of Bookers’ as the best in the prize’s existence, for Midnight’s Children. For 10 points, name this Mumbai-born author who also received a fatwa on his life for his controversial Satanic Verses.
ANSWER: Salman Rushdie
6. These waves are incapable of traveling through the liquid portion of earth’s core. They can, however, be produced and travel through the inner core, telling scientists about its structure. For 10 points, name these transverse waves that travel from the epicenter of an earthquake at a slower speed than their longitudinal counterpart, P-waves.
ANSWER: S-waves (accept secondary waves)
7. Considered the first sub-Saharan country to gain its independence, it was formed in 1957 by the merger of the British colonies of the Gold Coast and British Togoland. It is located to the south and east of the empire in whose honor it was named, an empire that fell in the 13th century CE to be replaced in prominence by the Mali Empire. For 10 points, identify this African country with its capital at Accra.
ANSWER:Ghana
8. This sultanate is divided up into three Governorates and five regions called "mintaqah". The land is mostly desert with mountain ranges including Jebel Akhdar around the major coastal cities of Matrah, Sur, and Salalah. For 10 points, identify this nation, with a capital at Muscat and borders the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
Answer: The Sultanate of Oman
9. Its original British version is hosted by Chris Tarrant and it takes its title from a Cole Porter song. The American version debuted in the summer of 1999 and thankfully never had a scandal like the British show where one contested cheated to win with the help of another contestant’s coughing. A syndicated version debuted in this country in 2002, but it is only a half hour and eliminated the Fastest Finger questions from the now cancelled primetime version. For 10 points, what is this game show once hosted by Regis Philbin and now by Meredith Vieira?
ANSWER: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
10. The FBI advised against his immigration, alleging that he "believe[d] in … a doctrine which … 'would allow anarchy to stalk in unmolested.'"He did, however, wind up in America and wrote a letter to FDR suggesting the development of nuclear bombs. In 1905, his annus mirabilis, he wrote papers on Brownian motion, the photoelectric effect, and relativity, the second of which won him a Nobel Prize. For ten points, name the physicist who stated that matter and energy were equivalent.
ANSWER: Albert Einstein
11. This term was coined by William Graham Sumner, a social evolutionist and professor of Political and Social Science at YaleUniversity. Ironically, this concept may be something that all cultures have in common. It refers to the belief that one's own group is the point of comparison for all other racial and ethnic groups. For 10 points, identify this term which is used to explain extreme nationalism and is derived from the Greek words for nation and a sharp point ANSWER: ethnocentricity (accept equivalents)
12. This January, a 77-year-old man attacked one of this man’s artworks with a hammer. This artist was no stranger to controversy, as he withdrew his most famous painting from display in Paris in 1912 after event organizers cautioned him of the scandal it would cause if the superimposed images shown in rapid succession like a motion picture were exhibited. For 10 points, name this painter associated with Dada who, at New York’s Armory Show, finally displayed his Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2.
ANSWER: Marcel Duchamp
13. The military intended to hold an early trial and gain an acquittal before the right-wing press could pick up the issue. Instead, political pressure increased and the defendant was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island. He was later pardoned by the President of France after his brother and a number of journalists campaigned on his behalf. The most famous of these advocates was Émile Zola, who published “J'accuse!” in defense of, for 10 points, what Jewish colonel in the French army?
ANSWER: Alfred Dreyfus
14. Its name comes from the Greek verb meaning, “to strangle.” According to Hesiod, it was the offspring of the Chimera and Orthrus and was sent from Ethiopia by either Hera or Ares, depending on the version of the myth. For 10 points, name this mythological beast which ravaged Thebes before it committed suicide when Oedipus correctly solved its riddle with the answer “man.”
ANSWER: Sphinx
15. A founding member of the Pickwick Club, she at one point cuts her hair to sell to a wig shop. She would marry Professor Bhaer and have sons with him like the rebellious Dan and Emil, a sailor. Growing up as an awkward tomboy in New England during the Civil War, she dreamt of becoming a writer. For 10 points, name this second-eldest March child, sister to Meg, Beth, and Amy and protagonist of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
ANSWER: JosephineMarch
16. Pencil and paper ready. In the party game Mafia, one-quarter of the players are randomly selected to be in the mafia, one other player is selected to be inspector, and the rest are civilians. Eight players wish to play every possible combination of mafia, inspector, and civilians and note that there will be 2 mafia and 5 civilians in each game. For 10 points, find the number of games they will play. You have 15 seconds.
ANSWER: 168 (8*7/2 = 28 ways to choose the mafia, then 6 ways to choose the inspector)
17. It is one of the rules used in determining the electron configuration of an atom. It requires two electrons in the same atomic orbital to have opposite spins, implying that an atomic orbital can hold no more than two electrons. For 10 points, name this principle, which states that no two electrons in a given atom can have the same four quantum numbers.
ANSWER: Pauli Exclusion Principle
18. One early set was created by the French artist Jean Antoine Houdin. A later, surviving set was crafted by a "Dr. Baker" of Philadelphia and held in place with springs. Contrary to popular belief, they were actually made from hippo ivory, cow bone, gold and lead. Currently residing in the University of Maryland Museum of Dentistry, these are, for ten points, what presidential chompers?
ANSWER: George Washington's teeth or Washington's dentures
19. About one in 100,000 people lacks one entirely and the largest one ever observed was removed in 2003 and measured 9 inches. Some physiologists believe that it serves a purpose in the endocrine or lymphatic systems. Most, though, agree that it once helped early ancestors digest cellulose but is now a purely vestigial organ. For ten points, what is this small extension of the cecum, which commonly becomes inflamed and is removed through surgery?
ANSWER: vermiform appendix
20. A circle is inscribed within a square that is inscribed within a larger circle. The area of the larger circle is 2π square centimeters. Since the larger circle’s diameter is the length of the square’s diagonal, the circumference of the smaller circle can be found. For 10 points, what is the circumference of the smaller circle?
ANSWER: 2π centimeters
21. He was born around the year 1844, and is tall and thin, with hair that was ginger before it turned white. He has a fondness for sweets of all kinds, and says you can never have too many socks. He is an accomplished alchemist, discovering the twelve uses for dragon’s blood, and taught Transfiguration until 1956, when he took on the job for which he is most famous. For 10 points, identify this now deceased Headmaster of Hogwarts.
ANSWER: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
1. For 10 points each, identify the SI unit based on its breakdown, e.g. kilogram meters per second squared is a Newton.
[10] Kilogram meter-squared per second-cubed ampere, i.e. “ampere” is in the denominator
ANSWER: Volt
[10] Kilogram meter-squared per second-cubed
ANSWER: Watt
[10] Kilogram per second-squared ampere, again, “ampere” is in the denominator
ANSWER: Tesla
2. For ten points each, identify these French Cardinals.
[10] Henry III invited this cardinal and his brother, the leaders of the Catholic League, to negotiate in 1588, only to execute them both.
ANSWER: Louis II, Cardinal Guise (accept Louis II)
[10] He took personal command of the siege of La Rochelle, a Huguenot stronghold, and as Chief Minister to Louis XIII allied with Protestant princes in Germany and Sweden to oppose the Habsburgs in the Thirty Years War.
ANSWER: Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Duc de Richelieu
[10] Richelieu’s anointed successor, he concluded the Peace of Westphalia and the Peace of the Pyrenees in France’s favor. His intimacy with Queen Anne led to rumors that that he was the natural father of Louis XIV.
ANSWER: Jules Cardinal Mazarin
3. Given a description, identify the article of the U.S. Constitution for 10 points each.
a) This article discusses the powers granted to the Executive Branch.
ANSWER: Article 2
b) This article discusses how amendments to the Constitution are to be ratified.
ANSWER: Article 5
c) This article discusses how the Constitution itself is to be ratified.
ANSWER: Article 7
4. Pencil and paper ready. For ten points each, give the product of the solutions to the following polynomials:
[10] x^2 + 4x + 3 (Read as x squared plus four x plus three)
ANSWER: -3
[10] 2x^2 - 4x – 6 (Read as: 2 times x squared minus four x minus six)
ANSWER: 3
[10] 3x^2 - 4x^3 – 4 (Read as: three times x squared minus 4 times x cubed minus four)
ANSWER: 4
5. Given the name of a major US city, identify the county in which it is located for ten points each.
[10]Seattle, Washington
ANSWER: KingCounty
[10]Atlanta, Georgia
ANSWER: FultonCounty
[10]Cleveland, Ohio
ANSWER: CuyahogaCounty
6. This week, the Oscar nominations will be released which means that the Razzie nominations will come out just prior. Answer the following about likely frontrunners for the awards honoring the worst of the worst of film for 10 points each.
[10] The Worst Sequel or Remake category, and there were many this year, will likely feature this clunker starring Paris Hilton who actually gave us one good moment when her character was brutally murdered.
ANSWER: House of Wax
[10] The Razzies sometimes don’t go after people for being bad in films so much as they are bad in public. Therefore it’s logical they’ll go after Tom Cruise for his appearance in this Steven Spielberg hit about aliens who for some reason decide its best to destroy New Jersey. I thought they were doing us a favor.
ANSWER: War of the Worlds
[10] Finally, in perhaps the most inexplicable waste of celluloid of this year, MichaelBay treated us to Scarlett Johansson and Ewan Macgregor in a sci-fi clone fantasy.
ANSWER: The Island
7. Pencil and paper ready. We’d never do this, but we could’ve held WUHSAC 8 as a single-elimination tournament. For ten points each:
[10] Given that there were scheduled to be 43 teams, how many games would be played to crown a champion? Do not include a potential third-place game.
ANSWER: 42
[10] What would be the minimum number of games that a team would have to win to earn first place?
ANSWER: five
[10] Alternatively, we could’ve held a double-elimination tournament. In that case, what is the largest number of games that could’ve been necessary?
ANSWER: 85
8. Given the names of characters from a well-known American novel, name the novel for 10 points each.
[10] Nurse Rached, Randle McMurphy, Chief Bromden, Billy Bibbit
ANSWER: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
[10] Yossarian, Major Major Major, Lieutenant Scheisskopf, Milo Minderbinder
ANSWER:Catch-22
[10] Jubal Harshaw, Gillian Boardman, Valentine Michael Smith
ANSWER:Stranger in a Strange Land
9. Identify these landmarks of Rome, for 10 points each.
[10] There are 135 of these, built to link an embassy at the bottom with a church at the top.
ANSWER: Spanish Steps or Scalinata di Spagna
[10] This domed building was constructed by Agrippa and dedicated to all the Roman gods.
ANSWER: Pantheon
[10] A large statue of Neptune is featured in this Baroque work built by Nicola Salvi.
ANSWER: Trevi Fountain
10. For 10 points each, give the oxidation number of sulfur in each of these compounds:
[10] Hydrogen sulfide
ANSWER: -2
[10] Copper(II) [read as: copper-two] sulfate
ANSWER: +6
[10] Sulfur dioxide
ANSWER: +4
11. Given a year, an author and one of his or her works, identify the country these Nobel Prize in Literature authors hail from for 10 points each.
[10] 1991. Nadine Gordimer, The Lying Days
ANSWER: South Africa
[10] 1986. Wole Soyinka, The Lion and the Jewel
ANSWER: Nigeria
[10] 1988. Naguib Mahfouz, Fountain and Tomb
ANSWER: Egypt
12. Answer these questions about the Ming dynasty for ten points each.
[10] The dynasty’s first emperor was the Hongwu emperor in this century.
ANSWER: The 14th century or the 1300s
[10] In 1403 the Ming moved the capital of China to Beijing from what other city?
ANSWER: Nanjing
[10] In 1644 the dynasty was toppled by what group of invaders from the north?
ANSWER: Manchus
13. Name these -ologies for ten points each. Given a field, name the term for its study. For example, the study of fish would be ichthyology.
[10] The study of freshwater environments
ANSWER: Limnology
[10] The study ofmaps
ANSWER: Cartology
[10] The study of soils
ANSWER: Pedalogy
14. For ten points each, identify the following about an American artist
[10] He lived most of his life in Europe and was renowned as a portraitist around the turn of the twentieth century with his own unique style and occasional controversy.
ANSWER: John Singer Sargent
[10] This painting of a Parisian socialite shocked the art community and Sargent hastily repainted one of the dress’s shoulder straps that was originally falling off his subject.
ANSWER: Portrait of Madame X or Portrait of Mademoiselle ****
[10] Sargent painted a series of portraits of this Scottish author of Treasure Island.
ANSWER: Robert Louis Stevenson
15. Identify these characters from Shakespeare’s Othello, none of whom are the title character, for ten points each.
[10] This daughter of Senator Brabantio insists upon marrying Othello, and loves him to her dying breath.
ANSWER: Desdemona
[10] This lieutenant of Othello’s is falsely accused of having had an affair with Desdemona.
ANSWER: Cassio
[10] This master manipulator actually speaks more lines than Othello himself, and is the driving force behind the play’s tragic end.
ANSWER: Iago
16. Answer the following questions about the Sago Mine Disaster that occurred on January 3, 2006, for the stated number of points.
[5] The Sago Mine is located in this state.
ANSWER: West Virginia
[5,5] The number of men who survived the accident and the number of men who died, in order.
ANSWER: 1 and 12 (must be in order)
[15] The accident was the deadliest mining accident in West Virginia since 1968, when this current governor of West Virginia’s uncle died. For 15 points name that governor.
ANSWER: Joe Manchin
17. Answer these questions about a concept from ecology for ten points each.
[10] This is the term for when one species resembles another in order to fool a predator.
ANSWER: mimicry
[10] This is the type of mimicry in which a harmless organism resembles a dangerous one in order to deter attack.
ANSWER: Batesian mimicry
[10] In this type of mimicry, two venomous insects might resemble one another so that predators are more likely to learn of their danger.
ANSWER: Mullerian mimicry