1st and 3rd periods. In these periods, your team will choose a category and be read ten questions. After each response, the moderator will indicate whether or not it was correct. If you are incorrect, the other team will have a chance to answer.

Bonus Category: SPOILERS

Given an ending, name the book, film, story, or event being described:

1. On the twenty-first day the narrator travels to London to find the Martians have died of a disease.

answer: The War of the Worlds

2. George, Elaine, Kramer and Jerry end up in a Massachusetts jail having broken a good Samaritan law in the 1998 last episode of what show?

answer: Seinfeld

3. Having left Egypt, Moses destroys the golden calf, receives the Ten Commandments, and instructs the people to build a tabernacle in this book of the Bible.

answer: Exodus

4. Donavon McNabb throws a pass that goes over Mitchell and into Harrison's arms for an interception with 9 seconds left. The Patriots win 24 to 21.

answer: Super Bowl XXXIX [39] (accept: "The 2005 Super Bowl" or similar)

5. The Death Eaters attack Hogwarts, Snape kills Dumbledore, and as Snape escapes identifies himself as the mystery title character gifted in potion making. Remember to give the full title of this work.

answer: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

6. Towards the end of this Handel work named for Jesus Christ, the Hallelujah Chorus is sung.

answer: The Messiah

7. The young Capulet sleeps but the young Montague thinks his girl is dead so he stabs himself. The young Capulet awakes discovers her man is dead, so she stabs herself. The families promise to stop fighting.

answer: Romeo and Juliet

8. In this 1986 installment Samus destroys Ridley and the Mother Brain, and then must escape from the planet Zebes. Surprise, Samus is a woman! It was the first game by this title.

answer: Metroid (do not accept "Super Metroid" or "Metroid Prime")

9. Three of the title arachnid 's children stay to keep Wilbur company on the Arable farm in what book?

answer: Charlotte's Web

10. Ellie Arroway takes the space capsule and meets an alien who appears as her father at the end of this Carl Sagan work. No one believes Ellie went anywhere.

answer: Contact

Bonus Category: Food, drnk, and eating

1. Based in Atlanta, what soft drink was created by John Pemberton in 1886 and given a name based on the presence of a now-absent narcotic?

answer: Coca-cola or Coke

2. What type of grape was developed by Ephraim Bull in Massachusetts shares its name with the state capital of New Hampshire?

answer: Concord

3. What literary character by Lewis Carroll discovered she could become big or small by nibbling alternate sides of a mushroom in a wondrous land?

answer: Alice

4. Pencil and paper ready. A rectangular pizza has dimensions 12 inches by 18 inches. How many square pieces could it be cut into with dimensions 3 inches by 3 inches? (Give 10 seconds.)

answer: 24

5. The sturgeon, the chief source of the fish eggs eaten as caviar, is found in what sea north of Iran stretching to Russia?

answer: Caspian Sea

6. What sports beverage was originally developed for the University of Florida football team?

answer: gatorade [Florida Gators]

7. What French queen of the revolution said of the hungry citizens, "let them eat cake"?

answer: Marie Antoinette

8. Observers of what religion do not eat during the daytime hours of the holy month of Ramadan?

answer: Islam or the Muslim faith

9. What two children in an Englebert Humperdinck opera nibbled on a house made of cake and sugar?

answer: Hansel and Gretel

10. What gas, chemical formula CO₂, causes the effervescence of soda?

answer: carbon dioxide

Bonus Category: Also a Bowl game

The answers in this category also name college football bowl games.

1. Its layers include the chromosphere, photosphere, and corona.

answer: the Sun

2. What term refers to the arid regions and non-urban areas of Australia?

answer: outback

3. Eli Whitney created an engine that separated seeds from fibers of what southern crop?

answer: cotton

4. This variety of the mineral beryl is colored green by either chromium or iron.

answer: emerald

5. Where did Santa Anna defeat Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett in March 1836?

answer: the Alamo (prompt on "San Antonio" or "Texas", which are not bowl games)

6. The 1764 Act of Parliament by this name taxed molasses and rum exported from the West Indies and was despised by the colonists.

answer: Sugar Act

7. This bowl is located in Little Havana and is home to the University of Miami.

answer: Orange Bowl

8. In a Robert Herrick poem, the reader is told to gather the buds of what plant?

answer: rose ["Gather ye rosebuds while ye may" from To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time]

9. This Spanish word means "celebration".

answer: fiesta

10. Prominent in the September 2005 news, Ray Nagin is mayor of what city?

answer: New Orleans

Bonus Category: Word and phrase origins

1. When Ponce de Leon saw this state, he gave it a name meaning "land of flowers".

answer: Florida

2. What oath taken by medical students upon becoming doctors is named after an ancient Greek physician?

answer: Hippocratic Oath

3. Chang and Eng Bunker, who were born in a country now called Thailand and had conjoined circulatory systems, were what kind of siblings?

answer: Siamese twins

4. What name meaning "star form" in Greek did William Herschel give the objects he found between Mars and Jupiter?

answer: asteroid

5. What symbol was invented by a secretary of the Ancient Roman senate and originally looked like a contraction of the letters 'e' and 't', which is the Roman word for "and"?

answer: ampersand [if they can't name it but can draw it, they get the points]

6. What work by Margaret Mitchell about a Civil War-era woman took its title from an Ernest Dowson poem in which the speaker "forgot much"?

answer: Gone with the Wind

7. In the Queen's English, this word means a waiting line. What is this word that names the list of documents waiting for your printer?

answer: queue

8. Originally sold by the German Bayer company, what analgesic has a name that shortens its chemical name: acetylated spiraeic acid?

answer: aspirin

9. Meaning "winged digit" in Greek, what flying reptiles had greatly elongated limbs that supported a wing?

answer: pterodactyl or terodactyl

10. Invoking Solomon's wisdom, Hercules' strength, Atlas's stamina, Zeus's power, Achilles' courage, and Mercury's speed, what word did Billy Batson use to change himself into Captain Marvel?

answer: Shazam! [using the first letter from each god]

Bonus Category: Science Lab

The answers to this category are either to questions about science laboratories, or will name something found in them.

1. Many labs have what arrangement of the chemical elements on the wall, originally invented by the Russian Dmitri Mendeleev?

answer: periodic table

2. These are liquids that are used to dissolve other substances. Nail polish remover is an example.

answer: solvent

3. On The Muppet Show, who was the assistant to Doctor Honeydew and had shocked red hair because experiments kept exploding in his face?

answer: Beaker

4. All or nothing--you can use electrolysis to split water into what two elements?

answer: hydrogen and oxygen [water's chemical formula is H₂O]

5. Pencil and paper ready. An experiment calls for one and three-quarter grams of a salt, and you have twenty-one grams of that salt. How many times can you perform the experiment using that quantity?

answer: 12

6. In a Mary Shelley work, what is the first name of Doctor Frankenstein, who used his laboratory to create a monster?

answer: Victor

7. Who was known as "the wizard of Menlo Park" and invented a phonograph and a stock ticker?

answer: Thomas Edison

8. Used as an anesthetic, nitrous oxide is better known by this name, due to its intoxicating effect.

answer: laughing gas

9. Where might you find Dee Dee ruining her brother's technological brilliance, or Mandark taking credit for an invention?

answer: Dexter's Laboratory

10. Probably the most famous lab equipment is what burner invented by a German who discovered the element cesium?

answer: Bunsen burner [after Robert Wihelm Bunsen]

2nd period: This period contains twenty tossups worth 10 points each. When you think you know the answer, signal with your buzzer and your team will have five seconds to respond.

1. After indenting, paragraphs often start with what kind of sentence that establishes the theme?

answer: topic sentence

2. Franz Kafka wrote a book by this title in which a man is turned into a cockroach. What is this term describing the change of a caterpillar into a butterfly?

answer: metamorphosis (accept word forms)

3. Located on the west coast, this city is the birthplace of Jerry Garcia, Joe DiMaggio, Tiger Woods, and Richard Nixon. Name this "golden" city in California, across a namesake bay from Oakland.

answer: San Francisco

4. Also called the nut or heel, what part of a violin's bow is at the base where the violinist grasps, and shares its name with an amphibian?

answer: frog

5. In the mnemonic for order of operations "please excuse my dear Aunt Sally" the word "please" reminds you to do operations insides what symbols first?

answer: parentheses (accept: brackets or braces)

6. What book series is about a world with mice, badgers, otters, rats, rabbits with characters Matthias, Cluny the Scourge, and Martin the Warrior and is written by Brian Jacques?

answer: Redwall

7. What unit of measurement, named after an Italian scientist, measures potential energy across the terminals of a battery? Batteries are commonly sold with 1.5 or 9 of these.

answer: volt(s)

8. Looking like a diamond with extended lines, in music what sign cancels a previous sharp or flat?

answer: natural

9. This 2003 film is about a single parent who lives in a sea anemone. Name this Pixar creation whose title character is a clown fish that ventures too far away from home.

answer: Finding Nemo

10. Founded by Cortez on the ruins of Tenochitlan, what is the capital of the country on the United States' southern border?

answer: Mexico City

11. Pencil and paper ready. A cube has length, with, and height all equal to 5. Find the surface area of his cube, which is equal to the combined area of all 6 faces. (give 10 seconds)

answer: 150

12. This Virginian lost the battle of Gettysburg and surrendered at Appomattox. Who is this general of the Confederacy in the American Civil War?

answer: Robert E. Lee

13. What is called in hockey if a teammate crosses his own blue line before the player controlling the puck does?

answer: offsides

14. In the 1940's he served in the Nazi army and after the war studied religion in Munich. Who is this man that in April 2005 was elected Pope?

answer: Benedict XVI or Joseph Alois Ratzinger

15. The term comes from French for "twirl" and "weathervane". What is this ballet move involving a rotation on the points of the toes?

answer: pirouette

16. What order of mammals includes beavers, squirrels, hamsters, gophers, mice, and rats?

answer: rodents

17. Within 200 years, in what year does legend say that Romulus founded the city of Rome which is now over two thousand years old?

answer: 753 BC (accept 553 to 953 BC)

18. In a study, she was found to be 83 percent happy, 9 percent disgusted, 6 percent fearful,

and 2 percent angry as determined by her smile. Who is this woman portrayed in a Da Vinci painting?

answer: Mona Lisa

19. Constructed over 5,000 years ago, it is unknown how this structure located in Salisbury was made, but it is thought that Druids built it for astronomical purposes. Name this ring of rocks located in England.

answer: Stonehenge

20. A genetically advanced warrior given Mark VI armor in the second version of the game, he is also known as Spartan 117 or John. Name this super soldier who fights against the Covenant in Halo and Halo 2.

answer: Master Chief (prompt on early "Spartan 117" or "John")

4th period: This period contains twenty tossups worth 15 points each. When you think you know the answer, signal with your buzzer and your team will have five seconds to respond.

1. What nine-letter term describes paintings in which natural scenery is the subject, such as forests, hills, or bodies of water?

answer: landscape(s)

2. He was the head of a dynasty that ruled the Hawaiian Islands for more than a century. Name this former king of Hawaii, also the namesake of an energy attack in Dragon Ball Z.

answer: Kamehameha

3. Named after an Italian candymaker and based in San Francisco, what company makes rich chocolate sold in squares?

answer: Ghirardelli

4. This quantity, with units of meters per second squared, is equal to force divided by mass. What is this term commonly associated with speeding up?

answer: acceleration

5. In Spanish, this letter is pronounced similar to the double L sound, and can be used as both a consonant and a vowel. What is this letter that combines with the letter "o" to form the word for "I"?

answer: y [as in "yo"]

6. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, and Gamma are the first seven letters of the alphabet by this name used by pilots. Give this term which is the science of speech sounds and spellings by syllables.

answer: phonetics (accept: phonic, which means pertaining to phonetics)

7. Your team may have ten seconds for this: Name all four of the states which border each other at the so-called "four corners", a point located northwest of Santa Fe and southeast of Salt Lake City.

answer: Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico

8. One definition calls it "the consideration of others and adherence to unspoken rules of behavior". What is this term that means use of good manners?

answer: etiquette

9. What Rudyard Kipling story is about Mowgli’s adventures in India, and was made into a Disney story depicting a boy raised by wolves?

answer: The Jungle Book

10. In genetics this refers to characteristics that only occur when the organism has two of the same allele such as the ones for blue eyes and blond hair. What are these kinds of genes that are not dominant?

answer: recessive

11. Pencil and paper ready. Abhi the snail has fallen into a ten-foot well and he can't get out. He can climb up 4 feet during the day, but at night he has to rest and he falls back down three feet. How many days will it take for Abhi to climb out? (give: 10 seconds)

answer: 7 days (he gains 1 foot each day, and after 6 days can climb the remaining four feet)

12. One of her characters asks if you can keep a secret, another has taken Manhattan. She has quizzes on her website asking if you are a Becky Bloomwood, an Emma Corrigan, or a Samantha Sweeting. Name this British author of The Undomestic Goddess and the Shopaholic series.

answer: Sophie Kinsella

13. This Greek God was a brother of Zeus. He granted the City of Athens a brackish spring, but lost the competition to Athena. His domain is water. Who is this equivalent of the Roman Neptune?

answer: Poseidon (do not accept "Neptune", who was not Greek)

14. What collective name is given to the first ten amendments of the Constitution?

answer: Bill of Rights

15. In computer science, types of these include string, Boolean, integer, and character. What is this term describing an unknown quantity that in algebra is often represented by "x".

answer: variable

16. Angola achieved independence from this country, as did Mozambique and Brazil. Name this country that borders Spain, with capital at Lisbon.

answer: Portugal

17. A commonly misspelled word is a hired person to drive a car, such as a limousine. Spell the word "chauffeur".

answer: C-H-A-U-F-F-E-U-R (prompt if they give the word)

18. Characters on this show include Cleveland, Quagmire, Lois, Brian, Meg, Chris, Stewie, and Peter. Name this cartoon centered on the Griffin family.

answer: Family Guy

19. Common for a thousand years and used in Mel Gibson's film, what language was spoken by the Jews in Palestine around the time of Jesus?

answer: Aramaic

20. His picture hangs in Tiannamen Square and he served as the chairman of the Communist Politburo from 1943 until his death. Who is this Chinese "Chairman"?

answer: Mao Ze Dong