Northern Kentucky Academic League
JV Packet 1
-First Half1. This Italian composer is best known for his operas including Don Carlos and Macbeth, which was not his only use
of Shakespeare’s works for inspiration. He also created the operas Falstaff and Otello. Who was this 19th century
composer of “La donna e mobile” and La Traviata?
(Giuseppe) Verdi
2. Simplify the exponential expression three fifths raised to the negative three power.
One-hundred twenty-five over twenty-seven (or one-hundred twenty-five twenty sevenths)
3. A normal reading of this attribute of the human body is one-hundred twenty over eighty and is measured in
millimeters of mercury. What is this vital sign that is measured by a sphygmomanometer?
Blood Pressure
4. This daughter of the chief vizer and sister of Dinarzade was said to be very well read and knew the history of
kings. Who was this wife of Shahryar and Queen of Persia who would begin telling a new story every evening to
her husband and then wait until the following night to finish it, as told in One Thousand and One Nights?
Scheherazade
5. Both had alibis. Thus their convictions and subsequent sentence to death were met with protests and eventually
riots in major cities across the world. Who were these two Italian-born men who were convicted of armed robbery
and murder in 1920 and then executed seven years later despite overwhelming evidence to their innocence?
(Nicola) Sacco and (Bartolomeo) Vanzetti
6. What is the length of the vector six, three?
Three radical five
7. The son of an architect, this man immigrated to the United States in 1923 with his family when he was just 13
years old. He designed Washington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport and the TWA Flight Center. Who was this
Finnish-American architect that is best remembered as the designer of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis?
(Eero) Saarinen
8. The name for this type of plant tissue is taken from a Greek word meaning middle. The cells in this tissue are not
differentiated and are located closely to one another in high density. What is this plant tissue from which the
organism’s organs are created?
Meristem
9. While the identity of this 15th century author has been called in to question, it is generally agreed that he lived in
Warwickshire and was a member of Parliament despite early run-ins with the law that include multiple accusations
of theft and rape. Who was this author of Le Morte d’Arthur, a compilation of tales about King Arthur and the
Knights of the Round Table?
(Thomas) Mallory
10. The Four Corners region of the United States is home to this tribe of Native Americans that primarily live in
Arizona and New Mexico. Members of this tribe famously assisted with the code talkers during World War Two.
What is this largest of all Native American tribes in North America?
Navajo
11. Convert the decimal number thirty-one to binary.
One-one-one-one-one (listen for 5 ones)
12. In architecture, this word describes ornamental stonework beneath a window. In theatre, this is the portion of
a stage that protrudes into the audience beyond the proscenium arch. What is this word that most often describes
a garment worn in the kitchen?
Apron
13. He opted to be marooned on what would become the Juan Fernandez Islands instead of sailing on what he
believed to be an unreliable vessel. His wish granted, he stayed on the uninhabited island for over four years
before being rescued and eventually returning to England. Who was this buccaneer, a Scotsman that became the
inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe?
(Alexander) Selkirk
14. This dam was completed in 2006 and helped to improve shipping within the continent of Asia while displacing
over one million people and flooding many cultural and historical sites. What is this largest power plant in the
world, a hydroelectric dam that can be found on the Yangtze River in China?
Three Gorges Dam
15. As a young man this Georgian was arrested for being a revolutionary and exiled to Siberia numerous times.
However, following the Russian Revolution of the 1917 and subsequent Russian Civil War he found himself as the
right-hand man to Vladimir Lenin, who had become the Premiere. Who was this Soviet Premiere that led the
nation as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953?
(Joseph) Stalin
16. Artistic movements centered in this city include the Ash Can school, the Beat Generation and a renaissance of
African-American culture that thrived during the 1920’s. What is this city that is home to the Guggenheim Museum
and the museum known as MOMA?
New York City
17. Solve the following inequality for x: five minus three x is greater than seventeen.
X is less than negative four (accept: negative four is greater than x)
18. The narrator of the poem joins the title object by flying away on the “viewless wings of Poesy.” The poem
begins “My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains.” One of the author’s Eighteen Nineteen odes, what is this
poem by John Keats, written to a bird?
“Ode to a Nightingale”
19. The formation of table salt from an atom of sodium and an atom of chloride has this type of bond. What is this
type of chemical bond whereby an electron is given from one atom to another to fill the latter’s outermost valence
shell?
Ionic (Bond)
20. In this 1805 battle the French admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve was captured and he would lose eight times as
many men as the British. Named for the Spanish cape off of which it was fought, what was this most lopsided naval
battle of the Napoleonic Wars which famously saw the death of British Admiral Horatio Nelson?
Battle of Trafalgar
21. Solve the following equation for all real values of x: x squared plus twelve x minus eighty-five equals zero.
(x=) -17, 5 (accept in any order)
22. This man’s Portraits at the Stock Exchange has been criticized for what is perceived to be anti-Semitism, a
prejudice which he is known have had. Who was this French impressionist painter of the The Bellelli Family, At the
Races, and many ballet scenes?
(Edgar) Degas
23. This man made the first accurate mapping of the Canadian coastline while exploring the area during early 17 th
century. He then made his inland, establishing the first settlement at what is now Quebec City. Who was this
French explorer that is often referred to as the Father of New France?
(Samuel de) Champlain
24. When appearing as a mineral this substance is white and called sassolite. It results from the reaction of borax
with hydrochloric acid and it is sometimes used as a pesticide. What is this weak acid with the chemical formula Hthree-B-O-three?
Boric Acid
25. In 1852, this man published a collection of short stories entitled A Sportsman’s Sketches. His novella The
Torrents of Spring is largely driven from the author’s own experiences. Who was this Russian author, the writer of
the novel Fathers and Sons?
(Ivan) Turgenev
26. This religious reformer fled persecution in France for Geneva, Switzerland, from where he published many
writings speaking out against the problems within the church. Who was this French-born humanist and theologian,
the author of Institutes of the Christian Religion?
(John) Calvin
27. Find the inverse of the function f of x equals negative one-third x plus four.
(f inverse of x equals) three x minus twelve
28. His movies are known for having a non-linear timeline as was the case in his most famous movie, a neo-noir
crime film starring Uma Thurman, John Travolta, and Samuel L. Jackson. Who is this Tennessee-born director of
such films as Django Unchained, Kill Bill, Resevoir Dogs, and Pulp Fiction?
(Quentin) Tarantino
29. This Russian author spent the majority of his adult life as a practicing medical doctor. His novels included The
Duel, My Life, and An Anonymous Story, though he is best remembered for his plays such as Uncle Vanya. Who is
this playwright of The Cherry Orchard and Three Sisters?
(Anton) Chekhov
30. This law assumes that no transfer of state according to Einstein’s equation, e euqals m c squared takes place.
This law is important in the field of stoichiometry as it requires the chemical reaction to be balanced on both sides.
What is this law of physics which states that the total amount of mass in a closed system cannot be changed?
(Law of) Conservation of Mass
31. This war included the Battles of Agrigentum and Mylae. The leading general of the losing side was Hamilcar
Barca, the father of the famous general, Hannibal. What was this third century BC conflict between superpowers of
the ancient world that resulted in the changing hands of Sicily from Carthage to Rome?
First Punic War
32. This woman’s first novel features Clara del Valle, a woman with supernatural powers, reflecting the magic
realism present in her novels. That novel, The House of the Spirits is just one of many that feature strong female
characters. Who is this Chilean author of Daughter of Fortune and City of the Beasts?
(Isabel) Allende
33. Solve the following logarithmic equation for x: 3 log base x of 256 equals six.
(x =) 16
34. This author’s plays include The Title Mart, Dr. Jonathan, and A Traveller In War-Time. More well-known for his
novels, he penned Mr. Keegan’s Elopement, Richard Carvel, and A Far Country. Who was this American author that
shares a name with a Pulitzer Prize winning author and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom?
(Winston) Churchill
35. This adjective to describe a group of hydrocarbons was so applied because of the odor associated with many
examples at the time that the moniker was given. Examples include pyridine and anthracene. What are these
compounds that have a strong structure via a ring of bonding as exhibited in benzene?
Aromatic (Compounds)
36. One of this man’s albums is the greatest selling of all time with more than 50 million sold. That album, Thriller,
contains the songs “Beat It” and “Billie Jean”. From Gary, Indiana, who was this pop singer that started his career
by performing in an r and b group with his four brothers?
(Michael) Jackson
37. This organization’s existence rose and fell with the presence of the ongoing crusades in the Holy Lands. In the
early 14th century they were persecuted in France, with many burning at the stake. What was this Christian military
order whose sudden disappearance from the European scene has given rise to legends and conspiracies about the
organization’s continued existence?
Knights Templar
38. The title characters of this 1881 novel are Tom Canty and Prince Edward, a member of the Tudor Dynasty. The
two young men are identical in appearance allowing for them to switch places and determine if in fact, the grass is
greener on the other side. What is this novel, written by Mark Twain?
The Prince and the Pauper
39. What is the sum of the infinite geometric series with first term four and common ratio one-half?
Eight
40. During runoff, this layer of the Earth’s surface can be washed away, an event detrimental to farmers. By what
compound word do we refer to the top two to three inches of the Earth’s dirt, a layer that contains a higher rate of
organic material than the layers below?
Topsoil
-End of First Half-Second Half1. The 38th state to be admitted to the union, it joined the United States in 1876. Geographically, this state features
the edge of the Great Plains in the east, but is best known for the Rocky Mountains which pass through the
western portion of the state, including its state capital. What is this western state, home to the National Football
League’s Broncos?
Colorado
2. This Polish immigrant to the United States authored such novels as The Certificate, Satin in Goray, and Shosha.
Who was this winner of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature, the author of The Magician of Lublin and The Family
Moskat?
(Isaac Bashevis) Singer
3. H. G. Wells suggested the existence of this continuum by saying that all bodies must have length, breadth,
thickness, and duration. The bending of this “fabric” was first defined by Albert Einstein. What is this fourdimensional geometry of the universe within which all of matter and energy of the universe exists?
Spacetime
4. Evaluate the tangent of 11 pi over 6 radians.
Negative radical 3 over 3
5. Visual artists often use it as a balance to a central region of a work that can be cluttered or busy. Rubin’s vase is
an example of a use of this region of a picture as an optical illusion. What two-word term in art describes the
regions of a work outside of the subject or subjects?
Negative Space
6. This play was completed in 1942 but it was not actually published until 1956, and won the Pulitzer Prize for
Drama the following year, four years after the author’s death. This work demonstrates the effect of addiction on
family through the eyes of the Tyrone family. What is this drama that is often considered the magnum opus of
Eugene O’Neill?
Long Day’s Journey into Night
7. Add the following complex numbers together: three plus twelve i, negative seven minus four i, and negative four
plus six i.
Negative Eight Plus Fourteen i
8. One of the major symptoms of this neurological disorder is muscular weakness and sudden fatigue often
associated with emotional situations. What is this sleep disorder in which sufferers sleep excessively during the
day, often times nodding off quickly during everyday situations, and entering REM sleep within minutes?
Narcolepsy
9. One of these hypothetical constructions was first introduced in a paper in the journal Science called “Search for
Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation” and was considered the logical conclusion by the author for how an
advanced civilization would gather and store energy. What is this hypothetical sphere that would surround a star
and store the energy released by that star for use by an intelligent species?
Dyson Sphere
10. This poet wrote an autobiography in 1922 entitled The Enormous Room, in which he included tales of his time
as an ambulance drive during the First World War. Who is this American poet, the author of the collection Tulips
and Chimneys that famously does not use capitalization or punctuation in his writings?
(e. e.) cummings
11. The perimeter of a hexagon is 72 meters long. How long is the hexagon’s apothem?
6 radical 3 meters
12. Five individuals were accused of attempting to free confederate prisoners of war from union caps, and plotting
to overthrow the Indiana state government. What was this case, which took place shortly after the civil war, in
which it was ruled that military tribunals could not be applied to civilians when non-military courts were in
operation?
Ex parte Milligan
13. This non-fiction work’s subject murdered two men and committed a series of other crimes leading up to his
arrest and placement on death row. After numerous stays of his execution he was put to death via firing squad in
1976. What is this Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the execution of Gary Gilmore that was written by Norman
Mailer?
The Executioner’s Song
14. The Roman equivalent of this Greek primal god was Caelus. He was considered to be both the son and husband
of Gaia, as outlined in Theogony by Hesiod. Who was this Greek god of the sky, the father of the Titans?
Uranus
15. This attribute of light, sound, or another wave is measured in hertz and, in sound, is responsible for the change
in pitch that an observer hears. What is this attribute of a wave that counts the name of wavelengths that move
past an arbitrary point over a period of time?
Frequency
16. Find the inverse of the matrix with top row eight, six and bottom row: four, three.
Inverse does not exist (accept: similar answers)
17. The American author of this short story actually wrote two such stories with this name, both set in the Yukon.
What is this short story by Jack London in which the central character, while trying to meet back up with “the
boys” dies of hypothermia after multiple attempts at keeping warm?
To Build a Fire
18. Opposing the mind-body dualism that was popular during the 17th century, this Dutch philosopher believed
that the mind was a development of the physical brain, and it was views such as these that laid the groundwork for
the coming Enlightenment. Who was this author of A Short Treatise on God, Man, and His Well-Being and The
Ethics?
(Baruch) Spinoza
19. In the War of Currents, this was the approach championed by Nikolai Tesla. The flow of charge changes
direction at different times rather than a constant flow of charge in a single direction. What is this method by
which electric power is delivered from power plants to homes and businesses across the United States?
Alternating Current
20. After the ratification of this amendment it still applied for two years until Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections
resulted in its application to state elections as well. What is this amendment, ratified in 1964, that provided for a
ban on the poll tax?
24th (Amendment)
21. What is the past perfect tense of the verb “to think”?
Had Thought
22. What is the most specific shape of the graph of the equation x squared minus 3y plus 7 equals 0?
Parabola
23. Viola Farber, Jonah Bokaer, and Paul Taylor were among this choreographer’s students who went on to form
their own dance companies. Washington-born, his dance company formed at Black Mountain College and included
musicians John Cage and David Tutor. Who was this choreographer of Suite for Five, Sounddance, and Rainforest?
(Merce) Cunningham
24. These astronomical bodies are the smallest stars known to exist measuring approximately 25 kilometers in
diameter. Despite their small size, they are extremely massive as they are composed of the densest material in the
universe outside of a black hole. What are these stars named for the subatomic particle of which they are primarily
composed?
Neutron Star
25. This early political thinker believed in a rigid class system in which young people were slotted into their future
professions and trained from an early age. Who is this Greek philosopher that detailed the layout of a hypothetical
nation that would be led by philosopher-kings in his work, The Republic?
Plato
26. Examples of this phenomenon include a Catch-22, a Ship of Theseus, and in mathematics, nontransitive dice. In
time travel, examples of these include those called bootstrap, grandfather, and predestination, all of which serve
as arguments used by those that believe time travel to the past to be impossible. What term describes a selfcontradicting situation that seems to have occurred logically?
Paradox
27. Two standard dice are rolled. What is the probability that the sum is less than four?
1/12
28. The SI unit for radiactovity is this man’s last name. He won the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics alongside Marie and
Pierre Curie. Who was this French physicist, the discoverer of radioactivity?
(Henri) Becquerel
29. This slight movement in ballet can be done demi-pointe or en pointe, the latter of which is typically reserved
for girls. What is this ballet movement in which the dancer rises to the balls of his or her feet or to the tips of their
toes in a graceful and smooth transition from being rested to elevated?
Releve
30. This North African nation was ruled by the same man for forty-two years until Muammar Gaddafi was
overthrown and killed in 2011 as part of a civil war. What is this nation, where the city of Benghazi was the site of
an attack that resulted in the death of the U.S. Ambassador?
Libya
31. A collection of data follows a normal distribution curve. To the nearest whole number what percent of the data
should you expect to find with two standard deviations of the mean?
95%
32. This man’s most famous line is probably “a jug of wine, a loaf of bread, and thou.” While a poet, he also played
an important role in the development of mathematics during the 11 th century in the Middle East. Who was this
Persian mathematician, scholar, astronomer, and poet, the author of over One Thousand quatrains, which have
been translated in his the Rubaiyat?
(Omar) Khayyam
33. An extinction event that occurred approximately 252 million years ago marks the beginning of this geologic
period. The first group of dinosaurs and the first mammals appeared during this time frame. What is this geologic
period that follows the Permian period and precedes the Jurassic period?
Triassic (Period)
34. This type of political state is named after the chief export of Honduras and one of the exports of Guatemala,
two nations that were given this moniker during the 20th century. What two-word term describes a country with
an unstable government that which also finds itself highly dependent economically on the production of a single or
few limited resources?
Banana Republic
35. This musical genre flourished around the turn of the twentieth century and was replace in the 1920’s by jazz.
Joseph Lamb and James Scott were considered great composers of this style. Often featuring an up tempo piano,
what was this style, most often associated with the music of Scott Joplin?
Ragtime
36. How many edges does a six-faced polyhedron have?
12
37. Pen name required. This man wrote “The Hunting of the Snark”, a nonsense poem set in the same fantastical
world as a previous nonsense poem he wrote, “Jabberwocky”. This author’s real name was Charles Lutwidge
Dodgson. Who is this author, the creator of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass?
(Lewis) Carroll
38. This man’s The House by the Railroad served as the inspiration to the Bates house in the movie Psycho. Other
works by this man include Girl at Sewing Machine, Early Sunday Morning, and Office at Night. Who is this American
artist of the urban scene in his most famous work, Nighthawks?
(Edward) Hopper
39. This organization was formed by the son of a billionaire construction magnate from Saudi Arabia. Osama bin
Laden created it in 1988 though he was forced to move the organization to Sudan shortly thereafter. What is this
terrorist organization which perpetrated the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington DC?
Al-Qaeda
40. Despite discovering benzene, this scientist is more renowned for his advances in physics including his discovery
and mapping of a magnetic field around a conductor through which a direct current is travelling. Who was this
English scientist for whom a law of electrolysis and a well-known law of induction is named?
(Michael) Faraday
-End of Second Half-Tiebreakers1. Characters in this play include King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. Ophelia, who
loves the title character, drowns in a brook. What is this William Shakespeare tragedy about a Danish prince and
his indecision about whether to seek revenge for the murder of his father, the king?
Hamlet
2. Born in Haiti and of French descent, this naturalist moved to the United States in 1803 to avoid being
conscripted to fight in the Napoleonic Wars. While in the United States he took up ornithology, and began studying
the new nation’s birds. Who was this author of The Birds of America?
(James) Audubon
3. For the United States, refined petroleum, organic chemicals, and automobiles are the top three products in this
group of products that are used by other nations. What term is defined as goods produced by a nation that are
sold and shipped out of the country for use by another?
Export(s)
4. Multiply the scalar quantity negative four by the matrix with top row: negative three, one-half; and bottom row:
two, negative six.
Top Row: Twelve, Negative Two; Bottom Row: Negative Eight, Twenty-Four
5. This physical law, is sometimes referred to as the law of universal motion and it established a frame of reference
that would later be eliminated by the special theory of relativity. What is this physical law which states that an
object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon and an object at motion will stay in motion will maintain its
velocity unless acted upon by a force?
(Newton’s) First Law of Motion
-End of Tiebreakers-