TOSSUPS
1. Ibn Battuta visited Niani, this empire’s capital, after his Asian voyages, during its golden age.
He got there in a caravan on one of its many trade routes carrying West African kola nuts and gold
across the Sahara. Its founding came at Kirina in 1235, when Sundjata, a Malinke leader, defeated
the Sosso and went on to conquer lands between Gao and the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its rulers
were Muslim, one of whom made a famous, lavish pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324. FTP, name this
empire whose greatest king was Mansa Musa.
ANSWER: _MALI_
2. One translation says he gave instruction in “metaphysico-theologico-cosmoloonigology” in
Westphalia in the castle of Thunder-ten-tronckh. He is later sent to the gallows unsuccessfully by
the Inquisition and turns up as a galley slave in the Turkish navy. His student brings a fortune
home from El Dorado only to lose it to thieves, witnesses the 1755 earthquake at Lisbon and
returns home to hear him say that all these events are for the best “in the best of all possible
worlds.” FTP, name this tutor of Candide.
ANSWER: _PANGLOSS_
3. The painter symbolizes urgency by having the central character of this painting wear a scarlet
Phrygian cap, the symbol of a freed slave in antiquity. It celebrates July 28th, 1830, when the
people rose and dethroned Charles X. In the background, a throng of citizens is ready for battle, in
stark contrast to the lifeless bodies in the foreground of the painting. Front and center is the title
character, dress torn, holding a French flag in one hand and a rifle in the other. FTP, name this
painting by Eugène Delacroix.
ANSWER: _LIBERTY LEADING THE PEOPLE_
4. Ethnic groups in this diverse country include the Sasaks, Menadonese, Buginese, Sundanese and
Bataks. It is a hotbed of volcanic activity, with notable eruptions at Mount Kelud in 1919 and
Mount Tambora in 1815; the latter of these is blamed for over 90,000 deaths. This heavy geologic
activity results in a fragmented landscape, with Gebel Daam and Puncak Jaya rising to over 16,000
feet. Large deposits of oil are located in Aceh (a – CHAY) and Kalimantan, and the country spans
from Irian Jaya to Sumatra. FTP, name this country whose most populated island is Java.
ANSWER: _INDONESIA_
5. Its twelfth provision prohibited scutage, a payment in lieu of military service that sparked the
crisis leading to its creation. In its 39th provision it established habeas corpus and trial by jury, but
elsewhere mostly neglects the rights of commoners. Signed at Runnymede, it asserts the powers of
the nobles over the king and is the earliest basis for English constitutional liberties. FTP, name this
1215 English political document forced on King John.
ANSWER: _MAGNA CARTA_ or _MAGNA CHARTA_
6. The space to be spanned, 140 feet, was too large for traditional wooden centering, and the
crossing plan prevented buttressed walls, so instead it was done in a self-supporting ogival design
with a thin double shell for more support at a lesser weight. Originally a collaboration between
Ghiberti (gee –BER –tee) and another architect, the latter was still annoyed at his loss of the
commission for the associated cathedral’s baptistery doors and forced Ghiberti out. FTP, this
describes the dome built by Brunelleschi (broo –ne –LES-kee) for what cathedral?
ANSWER: _FLORENCE CATHEDRAL_ dome or _DUOMO_ dome or equivalent
7. “The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure,” he replies to
Zophar, who insisted that God was just. In the next section Elihu speaks angrily to him, “because
he justified himself rather than God” in his arguments. In the last section, God rewards him with
double his possessions, a large family and longevity for maintaining faith despite the death of his
family and his affliction with boils and other diseases. FTP, name this Biblical character whose
calamities resulted from a bet between God and Satan.
ANSWER: _JOB_
8. The mother lost all her money by marrying spendthrifts, and followed one to Paris, where he
abandoned her. She returns to see Varya, while her brother Gaev tries to save her finances by
taking a job in a bank and securing a loan from a general, but for naught. Leaving behind the valet
Firs, the Ranevskys are forced to leave their estate by the businessman Lopakhin, who proceeds to
chop down the title property. FTP, name this play by Anton Chekhov.
ANSWER: The _CHERRY ORCHARD_
9. Born April 7, 1987, he recently started school at MS 52 and was physically threatened by his
classmates, but should take solace in Juan Marichal’s offer to sponsor him. He threw a no-hitter on
August 14 and went on to strike out 62 of the 72 batters he faced while pitching for the Rolando
Paulino team. His greatest triumph came against Apopka, Florida, with the first perfect game in 44
years in the Little League World Series, but all for naught. FTP, name this pitcher who later
became more famous for being 14, not 12.
ANSWER: Danny _ALMONTE_
10. A theme throughout this essay is the comparison between government and a machine,
comparing injustice to the friction necessary to the machine. The friction may smooth the machine,
but if it controls the machine, the author says citizens should use their lives as a counter-friction. It
starts by accepting the motto, “That government is best which governs least,” and it goes on to
argue that unjust laws call for the just to resist them by denying their authority. Inspired by his time
in jail for failure to pay the poll tax, FTP, name this political essay by Henry David Thoreau.
ANSWER: _CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE_
11. His first five years were marked by good government, including ending of trials in his private
court and ending oppressive taxation, measures advocated by his advisors Burrus and Seneca. He’s
more well-known for such acts as putting his mother Agrippina to death in 59 and executing many
Christians. His extravagance was symbolized by the mile-long palace the Golden House, the
construction of which was allowed by the great fire that devastated Rome, which he was accused
of starting. FTP, name this famously decadent last of the Julio-Claudian emperors.
ANSWER: _NERO_ Claudius Caesar
12. With recently acquired bassist Mikey Welsh, the covers of their first and third albums are
similar, with the main differences being the appearance of a guitar and changing the background
color on the second. References in some of their songs include Cio-Cio San, of Madame Butterfly
fame, and weepel, the frontman's sled, and their brilliant work includes "My Name is Jonas" off the
Blue album, "El Scorcho" off Pinkerton, and "Don't Let Go" off the Green album. FTP, name this
band, most famous for “The Sweater Song” and “Buddy Holly.”
ANSWER: _WEEZER_
13. It was known to Cavalieri and Gregory in the 17th century but was popularized in the 18th
century calculus textbook A New Treatise of Fluxions. This approximation technique works best
with a polynomial of degree 3 or lower, giving the exact value of the area under the curve, much
better than the trapezoid rule. FTP, name this rule for approximate integration which uses
parabolas instead of straight line segments to approximate a curve.
ANSWER: _SIMPSON_'s rule
14. In Hinduism, the periods of the evolution and devolution of the world are called the days and
nights of this god. His four faces are a symbol of his wisdom, and Hindus believe that he wrote the
Vedas on gold leaves. He is called Prajapati in the Puranas, which suggest that he laid an egg and
hatched it, creating the universe. FTP, name this god who plays little role in Hinduism today
because worship centers around Vishnu and Shiva.
ANSWER: _BRAHMA_ or _PRAJAPATI_ before it is said
15. The southernmost point on this island is Kap Farvel, the northernmost Kap Morris Jesup,
which lies on the Lincoln Sea. Its highest mountain is Gunnbjorn (GOON – BYORN) and it is
called Kalaallit Nunaat or “Land of the People” by inhabitants. Separated by the Kennedy Channel
from Ellesmere Island and by the Davis Strait from Baffin Island., the U.S. still maintains a nuclear
early warning base on it at Thule. FTP, name the world’s largest island.
ANSWER: _GREENLAND_
16. The title character, whose “lips are pale and still,” does not feel the poet’s arm, and “has no
pulse or will,” but still “the flag is flung” and the swaying masses call for him, crowding the
shores. The title character, who has steered the ship of state to a safe port, symbolizes Abraham
Lincoln, who, like that character, has “fallen cold and dead.” FTP, name this poem by Walt
Whitman.
ANSWER: _O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN! _
17. The standard reference quantity used to calculate this measurement is 10 to the negative 12
watts per meter squared, and it is computed by multiplying 10 by the log base 10 of the ratio of a
measured quantity to this value. Approximately, rustling leaves produce 10, a conversation 65, and
the threshold of pain is at 120. FTP, name this measurement unit representing an intensity level,
often used to measure sound.
ANSWER: _DECIBEL_
18. Parts include the loop of Henle, which is located between the proximal and distal convoluted
tubules, and Bowman’s capsule. With a convex outer border and a concave inner border, blood
vessels enter and leave through an area in the inner border called the hilum. Containing about one
million nephrons and divided into three regions--the renal cortex, renal medulla, and renal pelvis.
FTP, name this gland that collects and excretes urine.
ANSWER: _KIDNEY_ (accept _NEPHRON_ before “convex”)
19. A billionaire media tycoon, his first stint as premier ended in 1994. His business interests,
including a soccer team whose former captain ran against him for a seat in the lower house, were
questioned in the last weeks before the election. Opponents also questioned his links to the
once-fascist National Alliance and xenophobic Northern League, but he retained enough strength
to defeat former Rome Mayor Francesco Rutelli in May. FTP, name this premier of Italy.
ANSWER: Silvio _BERLUSCONI_
20. The liner notes from its 1959 release compare it to a Japanese splashed-ink painting, which
requires the artist to paint spontaneously. It is one of the first examples of modal jazz, in which the
leader gives a scale or series of scales from which to improvise to the soloists, who on this album
include “Cannonball” Adderly on alto, Wynton Kelly and Bill Evans on piano, and John Coltrane
on tenor. FTP, name this album that also features the composer Miles Davis on trumpet.
ANSWER: _KIND OF BLUE_
21. As you move down the periodic table, this value decreases because the valence electrons are
further from the center of the atom. As you move from right to left this value increases because
each element's atomic structure is less willing to give up a valence electron. FTP, what is this
value representing the minimum energy required to remove an electron from a neutral, gas-phase
atom?
ANSWER: _IONIZATION ENERGY_
22. "'I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe-I believe
what I believe is right," "We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a
nation that suffers from incredible disease," "It's very important for folks to understand that when
there's more trade, there's more commerce" "Those of us who spent time in the agricultural sector
and in the heartland, we understand how unfair the death penalty is," "Let me put it to you this way,
I am not a revengeful person." FTP, these are all quotes from what 43rd president?
ANSWER: George W. _BUSH_ (accept reasonable equivalents, including “Bush Jr.”, “Dubya,”
etc. Prompt on early buzz of “Bushisms.”)
24. The theory behind them is criticized in the “Parmenides,” which raises contradictions over
their divisibility and resemblance to particulars. In the “Timaeus,” they are portrayed as the
models on which God creates material things. They are also discussed in the last book of the
“Republic,” in which the author expounds that all beds are merely copies, not the essential matter.
FTP, name these universal substances behind Plato’s metaphysics.
ANSWER: _FORMS_ or _IDEALS_ or _IDEAS_
BONUSES
1. For ten points each, name these things relating to the Athenian general Themistocles.
a) Themistocles provided the Greeks with a battle plan for this 480 BC naval engagement with the
Persians.
ANSWER: _SALAMIS_
b) The Persian armies defeated at Salamis had been sent by this Persian emperor.
ANSWER: _XERXES_ I
c) The navy Themistocles built allowed Athens to increasingly dominate this confederation,
essentially turning it into an Athenian empire.
ANSWER: _DELIAN LEAGUE_ or _CONFEDERATION OF DELOS_
2. The famed Le Pont de l’Europe in Paris is the subject of two impressionists, although neither
work resembles the other. Answer these questions about them for ten points each.
a) One is most famous for depicting the wide, Haussmanized boulevards of Paris in “Paris: A
Rainy Day.” Name him.
ANSWER: Gustave _CAILLEBOTTE_
b) The other, perhaps the most famous impressionist, was famous for doing series of paintings
examining subjects in different aspects, including Rouen (Roo – ON) Cathedral, water lilies and
haystacks. Name him.
ANSWER: Claude _MONET _
c) Claude Monet gave a name to the Impressionist movement with this painting, whose diffuse
blues are broken only by the deep orange of the title object in the center.
ANSWER: _IMPRESSION: SUNRISE_ or _IMPRESSION: SOLEIL LEVANT_
3. There are a number of miraculous births in the Old Testament. For ten points each, name these.
a) As part of God’s covenant with Abraham, he gave him this son while he was 100 and Sarah was
90.
ANSWER: _ISAAC_
b) He was born of a previously barren woman before defeating the Philistines and taking Delilah
for his bride.
ANSWER: _SAMSON_
c) Much like Samson, his mother was barren until his birth and he became a judge, leading Israel
until he crowned Saul king.
ANSWER: _SAMUEL_
4. Name the poems given opening lines for ten points each.
a) “Let us go then, you and I / While the evening is spread out against the sky”
ANSWER: The _LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK_
b) “My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains / My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk”
ANSWER: _ODE TO A NIGHTINGALE_
c) “The time you won your town the race / We chaired you through the market-place;”
ANSWER: _TO AN ATHLETE DYING YOUNG_
5. Name the acid, given its chemical formula, for the stated number of points.
a) For five points, HNO3
ANSWER: _NITRIC_ acid
b) For ten points, C2H4O2
ANSWER: _ACETIC_ or _VINEGAR_ or _METHANECARBOXYLIC_ acid
c) For 15 points, C6H8O7
ANSWER: _CITRIC_ or _BETA-HYDROXYTRICARBALLYLIC_ acid or _ACILETTEN_ or
_CITRETTEN_
6. Answer the following about the play-within-a-play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the
stated number of points.
a) For five points each, the play concerns “The Most Lamentable Comedy and Cruel Death” of
what two lovers?
ANSWER: _PYRAMUS_ and _THISBE_
b) For ten points, what carpenter, who appears “at the clavier” in a Wallace Stevens poem, directs
the play?
ANSWER: Peter _QUINCE_
c) For ten points, this weaver stars as Pyramus, but he’s more famous for sporting an ass’s head.
ANSWER: Nick _BOTTOM_
7. For ten points each, name these works of Sigmund Freud.
a) Freud’s most famous work is this 1900 tract laying out psychoanalysis’s roots in studying the
unconscious.
ANSWER: The _INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS_
b) In this 1931 work, Freud studied the antagonism between instinct and society. Much of it
analyzes the aggressive drive, which with the pleasure principle governs behavior.
ANSWER: _CIVILIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS_
c) This 1928 work contains most of Freud’s ideas about religion, concluding that religious ideas
are a form of wish fulfillment.
ANSWER: The _FUTURE OF AN ILLUSION_
8. For the stated number of points, name the following related to the Java programming language.
a) For ten points, Java is this type of language, which implies the ability to create classes and
subclasses.
ANSWER: _OBJECT-ORIENTED_ language
b) For five points each, Java has two types of loop, one of which has three parameters and the other
of which can be modified using the “do” keyword. Name them.
ANSWER: _FOR_ and _WHILE_
c) For ten points, this reserved word is often found following a "try" block and is used to specify
code to handle exceptions.
ANSWER: _CATCH_
9. Name these works of classical music for ten points each.
a) This Beethoven symphony ends with a movement based on a Schiller poem and translated “Ode
to Joy.”
ANSWER: _CHORAL_ symphony or _NINTH_ symphony or equiv.
b) Critics debate how much Dvorak (d – VOR – zhak) took from the music of America in this
symphony, written while he was in New York in 1892.
ANSWER: Symphony from the _NEW WORLD_ or _NINTH_ symphony or equiv.
c) This symphony by Mahler is given its common title because of the large chorus and orchestra
required.
ANSWER: Symphony _OF A THOUSAND_ or _EIGHTH_ symphony or equiv.
10. Name these developments in American foreign policy from the Eisenhower administration for
ten points each.
a) In this country, a CIA-backed coup toppled Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in favor of
the Shah.
ANSWER: _IRAN_
b) In response to shrinking military budgets, defense officials devised this war strategy, requiring a
quick response to provocations with overwhelming nuclear force.
ANSWER: _MASSIVE RETALIATION_
c) A planned 1960 summit between Eisenhower and Khrushchev was wrecked when this man was
shot down piloting his U2 over the Soviet Union.
ANSWER: Francis Gary _POWERS_
11. Name the following about a German philosopher for ten points each.
a) He developed a system in which intellectual or historical development proceeds in three steps:
thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. Name him.
ANSWER: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich _HEGEL_
b) Name the system described above.
ANSWER: _DIALECTIC_
c) Hegel applies dialectic to trace the evolution of consciousness in this 1807 work, perhaps his
most famous.
ANSWER: _PHENOMENOLOGY OF MIND_ or _PHENOMENOLOGY OF SPIRIT_
12. Name the French province (NOT department) for ten points each.
a) Namesake of a red wine, it was an influential duchy until the death of Charles the Bold. Dijon
and Cluny are in it.
ANSWER: _BURGUNDY_ or _BOURGOGNE_
b) The Seine River flows into the English Channel in this province, which also includes Caen
(cahn) and Rouen (roo –ON), but it’s better known as the starting point of a 1066 invasion and the
destination of a 1944 one.
ANSWER: _NORMANDY_
c) [10] It was the region of the king’s possessions, and included Paris.
ANSWER: _ÎLE-DE-FRANCE_ or _ISLE OF FRANCE_
13. Answer the following about a character from Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” for ten
points each.
a) Charles Marlow pursues this man, an ivory trader who renounces civilization and gives himself
up to the heart of darkness.
ANSWER: Mr. _KURTZ_
b) These are the last words of Kurtz.
ANSWER: _THE HORROR!_ The horror!
c) Kurtz is the head of this ivory-trading post.
ANSWER: _INNER STATION_
14. Answer the following about the most recent Washington scandal on a 5-10-15.
a) Name the congressman who represents California's 18th district and was connected to the
disappearance of Chandra Levy.
ANSWER: Gary _CONDIT_
b) Name the park to which Levy may have made a trip the day she disappeared and which was
searched extensively by Washington police in the weeks afterward.
ANSWER: _ROCK CREEK_ Park
c) Grand juries refused to investigate charges made by this flight attendant that Gary Condit asked
her to lie about an affair.
ANSWER: Anne Marie _SMITH_
15. 30-20-10 Name the actress from roles.
30: Mary Bell in “Pushing Tin,” Cornelia Wallace in the TV movie “George Wallace”
20: the title role in “Gia,” Kate Libby in “Hackers”
10: the title role in “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”
ANSWER: Angelina _JOLIE_
16. For ten points each, answer the following regarding probability distributions
a) The number of successes in n trials has this distribution when there are a fixed number of
independent trials, each trial results in success or failure, and the probability of success is constant.
ANSWER: _BINOMIAL_ distribution
b) When the number of trials is large and the probability of success is small, binomial probabilities
are approximated with this distribution.
ANSWER: _POISSON_ distribution
c) This is the distribution used when there are k possible outcomes each with probability P1
through Pk.
ANSWER: _MULTINOMIAL_ distribution
17. Answer these questions about a science recently in the news on a 5-10-15 basis.
a) President Bush announced limited funding of this line of research whose potential applications
include organ harvesting and elimination of genetic diseases.
ANSWER: _STEM CELL_ research
b) Within ten, how many stem cell lines are available for research worldwide according to Health
and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson?
ANSWER: _64_ (accept 54-74)
c) This billionaire, the founder of Netscape, has rescinded the last $60 million of his pledge to the
Stanford biomedical department in protest of the restrictions being placed on stem cell research
and funding.
ANSWER: Jim _CLARK_
18. Answer the following related to Louis XIV for ten points each.
a) For the first 18 years of his reign, Louis had this man as his minister, who instigated the Fronde
rebellion and crafted the Treaty of the Pyrenees to end a war with Spain.
ANSWER: Cardinal Jules _MAZARIN_
b) Louis’s power and the splendor of his court gave rise to this nickname.
ANSWER: _ROI SOLEIL_ or the _SUN KING_
c) Louis, apparently bored with the Louvre (LOOV), had this palace outside of Paris enlarged into
one of the most magnificent in the world.
ANSWER: _VERSAILLES_
19. Name these features of Alaska for ten points each.
a) This national park named for a volcano in south Alaska contains the famed Valley of Ten
Thousand Smokes.
ANSWER: _KATMAI_ National Park
b) Nome is on this peninsula in the west, which takes its name from the Secretary of State who
acquired Alaska from Russia.
ANSWER: _SEWARD_ Peninsula
c) This arm of the Beaufort Sea has been the center of petroleum exploration since 1968.
ANSWER: _PRUDHOE_ Bay
20. Name the following related to an Indian king for ten points each.
a) In the third century B.C., he enlarged his kingdom until he ruled most of the subcontinent, but
later adopted the doctrine of ahimsa and swore off further conquest.
ANSWER: _ASOKA_ or _ASHOKA_
b) Name the religion to which Asoka converted, which includes ahimsa or “nonviolence” among
its doctrines.
ANSWER: _BUDDHISM_
c) Asoka was the third ruler of this dynasty founded by Chandragupta.
ANSWER: _MAURYA_n
21. Name the following from music theory for ten points each.
a) What is the interval between a C and an A flat?
ANSWER: _MINOR SIXTH_ (prompt on sixth)
b) The third tone in a scale is also known as what?
ANSWER: _MEDIANT_
c) Note the following scale: C, D, E, F sharp, G sharp, A sharp. What sort of scale is this?
ANSWER: _WHOLE-TONE_
22. For ten points each, name the eye disorder
a) In this condition, parallel rays of light from distant objects come into focus in front of the retina
instead of on it.
ANSWER: _MYOPIA_ or _NEARSIGHTEDNESS_
b) This is inflammation of the lining inside the eyelids covering the cornea. A highly contagious
form is caused by bacteria or viruses.
ANSWER: _CONJUNCTIVITIS_ or _PINK EYE_
c) This is the condition occurring when the lens in the eye loses some of its elasticity and is no
longer able to provide the maximum convexity needed for near vision
ANSWER: _PRESBYOPIA_
23. Provide the economic terms given the following descriptions.
a) In economics, this refers to a payment for the use of a resource beyond the opportunity cost of
that resource, not a payment from a tenant to a landlord.
ANSWER: _RENT_
b) This measures the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a fixed
market basket of consumer goods and services.
ANSWER: _C_onsumer _P_rice _I_ndex
c) This measures the average change in selling prices received by domestic producers for their
output.
ANSWER: _P_roducer _P_rice _I_ndex