1st and 3rd periods. In these periods, your team will choose a category and be read ten questions for you to complete in ninety seconds. After each response, the moderator will indicate whether or not it was correct.

Bonus Category: Change a letter

[Moderator: always read the directions before starting the clock.]

In this category you will be given a word and a clue. Change one letter in the word to get the answer. For example, if I say "change a letter in horse to get a code used in telegraphs" you would say "Morse", changing the letter 'h' to "M'. The changed letter can be anywhere in the word.

1. Change a letter in "parks" to get the location of the Sorbonne University.

answer: Paris

2. Change a letter in "she" to get a definite article as opposed to the indefinite "a" and "an".

answer: the

3. Change a letter in "bind"to get the last name of an Ian Fleming character that appears in Tomorrow Never Dies.

answer: (James) Bond

4. Change a letter in "mood" to describe the bodies Phobos and Deimos.

answer: moon

5. Change a letter in "fight" to get the number of gods in the Egyptian Ogdoad [og-DEW-add].

answer: eight

6. Change a letter in "Iraq" to get the country currently led by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [ah-mahd-DIN-ah-jahd] .

answer: Iran

7. Change a letter in "but" to get something that is not currently in fashion or not working properly.

answer: out

8. Change a letter in "sings" to get spaces under the face targeted by cold medicines.

answer: sinus

9. Change a letter in "faster" to get an event that occurs on a Sunday after the first full moon of spring.

answer: Easter

10. Change a letter in "hears" to get something that is "Tell-Tale" in an Edgar Allen Poe story.

answer: heart

Bonus Category: The Reference Section

1. This dictionary-like list defines the words in a book that may be new or difficult to readers.

answer: glossary

2. Also a Greek god who held up the Earth, this is a collection of maps.

answer: atlas

3. A book with calendars, advice, and other information, Benjamin Franklin wrote one of these called Poor Richard's.

answer: almanac

4. Who was the first person to publish a thesaurus?

answer: Peter Roget [roh-JAY]

5. Usually in the beginning, this is a listing of the chapters and the pages they begin on.

answer: table of contents

6. This online resource has a portmanteau name combining terms for a collaborative website and a type of book edited by Denis Diderot .

answer: Wikipedia [from wiki and encyclopedia]

7. What alphabetical listing in the back of a book shows topics and all the pages they appear on?

answer: index

8. This is a collection of poems, short stories or other literature, usually all about a subject or by the same author.

answer: anthology

9. Making the sound like "a" in about, what special symbol used in pronunciation guides is denoted with an upside down "e" in dictionaries?

answer: schwa

10. What generic name describes the online tools Dogpile, Yahoo!, Altavista, and Ask.com?

answer: search engine(s)

Bonus Category: Animals

1. These extinct animals related to elephants came in Columbian, Steppe, and Woolly varieties.

answer: Mammoth(s)

2. What Rudyard Kipling collection includes How the Leopard got his Spots and The Beginning of the Armadilloes?

answer: Just So Stories

3. In The Lion King, Timon is one of these members of the mongoose family that live in mobs.

answer: meerkat(s)

4. When this green GEICO mascot first appeared, he begged people to stop mistaking his name for the companies'.

answer: the Gecko

5. What term describes the living space of a beaver, usually built near a dam?

answer: lodge or den

6. In the Chinese Zodiac, it is currently the year of what animal that can be pot-bellied?

answer: pig or boar

7. A "crash" is a group of what African animal whose name means "horn nosed"?

answer: Rhinoceros (accept word forms)

8. In the Sioux language, what animal is called tatanka [tuh-TON-kah]?

answer: buffalo or bison [this word was prominent in Dances With Wolves]

9. Alice follows one of these into Wonderland, and later attends a tea party hosted by one.

answer: hare or rabbit or bunny

10. Mayan kings usually took names incorporating what largest cat of the Americas, that is also a car name?

answer: jaguar

Bonus Category: Multiple Choice: Historical Wars

[moderator: always read the directions before starting the clock]

Given a list of combatants and a conflict, choose the winner of the war. For example, I said "American Revolution: the colonists, Mexicans, the redcoats", you would choose the colonists as the group that won.

1. Spanish-American War: Spain, The United States, France

answer: The U.S. or United States

2. Russo-Japanese War: Russia, Japan, Korea

answer: Japan

3. The French and Indian War: France, India, Great Britain

answer: Great Britain

4. World War II: The Allies, The Axis Powers, Hulk Hogan

answer: The Allies

5. Franco-Prussian War: France, Russia, Prussia

answer: Prussia

6. Six Day War: Israel, Egypt, Jordan

answer: Israel

7. Mexican-American War: Mexico, The United States, Guatemala

answer: The U.S. or United States

8. War World I: The Central Powers, The Entente Powers, The Power of 10

answer: The Entente Powers

9. American Civil War: The Union, The Confederacy, Canada

answer: The Union

10. The Hundred Years War: France, England, Italy

answer: France

Bonus Category: Short Answers

Each correct response in this category is two letters long.

1. This television network was formed in 2006 and features Crowned, One Tree Hill, and WWE Friday Night SmackDown!.

answer: the CW

2. In computer programming, this word represents a conditional statement. In Java, it can be accompanied by "else".

answer: if

3. These two letters mean "in the year of our Lord" and are placed after years that came after B.C.

answer: A.D.

4. These are the initials of the Dallas Wide Receiver that scored four touchdowns against the Redskins in November 2007.

answer: T.O.

5. These two letters are placed in front of acts proposed in the lower house of the Federal Congress

answer: HR [for House of Representatives]

6. In A Christmas Story, Ralph desperately wants one of these called a Red Ryder

answer: BB gun

7. These two letters stand for the chromosomes that males have, as well as the horizontal and vertical axes in Cartesian graphs

answer: X and Y

8. This method of communication conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its frequency.

answer: FM [as in frequency modulation]

9. On sheet music, these two letters mean to play moderately loudly

answer: mf [for mezzo-forte]

10. Now in its 14th season, this television hospital drama has had Laura Innes, George Clooney, and John Stamos in its cast.

answer: E.R.

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.

TOSSUPS:

1. Though they are mammals, the echidna and platypus are different than most mammals in that their young come out of what kind of object also laid by many birds?

answer: egg(s)

2. Many watched voters in this state a few weeks ago as they started the Presidential nominating process with their caucuses. Name this state whose capital is Des Moines.

answer: Iowa

3. Named for the Greek goddess of victory, what sports apparel company uses a "swoosh" as its logo?

answer: Nike

4. George Santayana said that "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to" do what?

answer: repeat it (accept equivalents)

5. Pencil and paper ready. What is 78 times 23?

answer: 1794

6. On what continent would you find the capitals of Maputo, Kampala, Mogadishu, Nairobi, and Algiers?

answer: Africa

7. The first formal Committee of Correspondence was established in this city in 1764 to protest the Currency Act and it is called The Cradle of Liberty for its role in starting the Revolution. Nearby bodies of water include the Charles River and Massachusetts Bay. What is this state capital, also called Bean Town?

answer: Boston

8. Pianos, harpsichords, accordions, and organs all have them. What is this term for the levers that you press to make music, also the name of the letters you press to input words into a computer?

answer: keyboard

9. This singer's "No One" recently reached number one on the charts. Name this singer whose albums include As I Am and Songs in A Minor.

answer: Alicia Keys

10. The different types are called skeletal, smooth, and cardiac. Some of the ones with names are the gluteus maximus, deltoid, and biceps. What are these parts of the body that help you lift objects?

answer: muscle(s)

11. Computers with more than one processor and electrical circuits not in series are named by what term that also describes lines of latitude and geometric lines that never touch?

answer: parallel

12. He was holding two pair, aces and eights, when he was shot in Deadwood. Calamity Jane claimed to be married to what famous gunfighter of the Old West that was said to be "wild"?

answer: "Wild" Bill Hickok or James Butler Hickok

13. A policy stating that everyone should have access to trading in China was called the Open one. The Norse home of Valhalla was said to have 540 of these so that 800 warriors could enter walking side by side. The fantasy TV series The Twilight Zone said you unlock one with the key of imagination. What are these holes in walls that allow you to go between rooms?

answer: door(s)

14. Theodore Maiman created the first one using a ruby. Today they are used for guiding missiles, eye surgery, and barcode scanners. What are these beams of light commonly used in science fiction as weapons?

answer: laser or Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

15. The Falkland Islands, Sargasso Sea, and Bermuda Triangle are all located in what ocean?

answer: Atlantic Ocean

16. This football team's 2007 season saw its quarterback throw for a record fifty touchdowns and its receiver Randy Moss had 23 touchdowns. What is this team that went 16 and 0?

answer: New England Patriots (accept either)

17. These are useful in producing cheese and yogurt. What are these one-celled organisms that many soaps labeled "anti-" fight against because some cause disease?

answer: bacteria or a bacterium (accept: anti-bacterial)

18. A story says that while working as a store clerk he gave a patron the wrong change and walked a great distance to fix the mistake. He was elected captain of an Illinois militia during the Black Hawk War, and after marrying Mary Todd he lived in Springfield. Who is this "honest" man that became President?

answer: Abraham Lincoln

19. Wearing several means you have a lot of jobs. If you pass one, you are asking for donations. If you declare yourself running for a political office, you are said to throw yours into the ring. You take one off to show respect to someone. What is this article of clothing worn on the head?

answer: hat

20. Past leaders of this country included Konstantin Chernenko and Yuri Andropov . Time magazine recently choose this country's leader as Man of the Year, but many readers objected to Vladimir Putin. Name this country with almost twice as much area as second place Canada, located in northern Asia.

answer: Russia

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.

TOSSUPS:

1. What word describes small living parts of organisms surrounded by a membrane, the areas covered by transmitters to mobile phones which gives them a nickname, or small rooms found in convents and prisons?

answer: cell (accept: cellular phone)

2. "Don't Count on It", "My Sources Say No", "Ask Again Later", "Without a Doubt", and "It is decidedly so" are responses this toy gives when shook and asked a question. What is this toy that looks like is belongs on a pool table and is solid black?

answer: Magic 8 ball

3. If you want to visit another country, you might need your passport and one of these documents, that is a country's permission for you to enter. What is this term, also a common credit card?

answer: visa

4. Fractions are an example of what kind of quantity that compares two values, such as three to five?

answer: ratio (accept: proportion and word forms)

5. The country of Nepal recently decided to abolish this position, so the line of over 200 years will end. What role was Gyannedra in, a kind of royal ruler that many countries no longer have?

answer: king (accept: queen or monarchy or Raja)

6. Sometimes also said of horses, "to see a man about" one of these is to give a fake excuse to leave. To go to them is to deteriorate. A "hot" one is a show-off, especially in sports. You should let sleeping ones lie. What is this type of animal, a traditional enemy of cats?

answer: dog

7. The author of Leaves of Grass, what author has lent his name to a bridge that connects Philadelphia with New Jersey and had a first name of Walt?

answer: Walt Whitman

8. Ironically a commonly misspelled word, how do you spell "misspell"?

answer: M-I-S-S-P-E-L-L

9. It was given to a woman named Rachel after stalking Paul Gauguin [go-GAN]. Later, a self-portrait with it bandaged was painted with the right side of the artist's head covered. What part did Vincent Van Gogh cut off of his head, which presumably he wouldn't be able to have pierced or hang jewelry from?

answer: ear lobe

10. The graphs of y=x and y=(1/x) intersect at what two points, two x values that are their own reciprocals?

answer: 1 and -1

11. Its motto is "For the Benefit of all". Some of this agency's projects and programs have been called Freedom, Friendship, Gemini, and Apollo. What is this U.S. agency that sends astronauts into space?

answer: NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration

12. Pencil and paper ready. Nick, Jack, Erik, and Chris decide to test their driving skills by going to Topeka, Kansas. If the trip is 1183.6 miles and the four drivers do equal amounts, how far did each drive?

answer: 295.9 miles

13. Jason Cross has a secret crush, Zeke Baylor likes to bake, and Chad Danfort can't believe someone would skip practice. A New Year's Eve party at a ski lodge is where Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez meet. This all happens in what Disney Channel show about trying out for a performance?

answer: High School Musical (prompt on "Wildcats Basketball Team" before "show")

14. Like carbohydrates, they contain four kilocalories per gram. What is this source of amino acids that you get in your diet through eggs, nuts, and especially meat?

answer: protein

15. In English, this can refer to a coward. The legendary first emperor of China is known by this color. In medicine, someone who turns this color is said to have jaundice. What is this color that means caution on traffic lights?

answer: yellow

16. He meets ghosts of Henry Hudson's crew, who are playing nine-pins and drinks some of their liquor. When he returns to the King George Inn he discovers it is named for George Washington. Who is this man that slept for twenty years in a Washington Irving work?

answer: Rip Van Winkle (accept either underlined name)

17. Equal to 100 centavos, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico give what name to their money?

answer: peso

18. Transpiration is the process by which plants release this into the atmosphere. The xylem carries it throughout a plant, and it is generally absorbed through the roots. What is this liquid that a lack of might cause a plant to wilt?

answer: water

19. Kings Canyon, Mojave National Reserve, Redwood Parks, Santa Monica Mountains, and Yosemite are all national parks located in what large west coast state?

answer: California

20. This element is found in diamonds and the graphite used in pencils. Many people try to conserve fossil fuels because this element's dioxide is considered a greenhouse gas that causes global warming. What is this element whose chemical symbol is a capital C?

answer: carbon