This program brought you in part by the Erika Lewis Endowment Fund.

-Coming up, it's Advanced Technologies Academy... [cheers and applause] ...taking on West Career Technical Academy.

[cheers and applause] This is Varsity Quiz!

[crashing sound] ♪♪♪ [cheers and applause] Hello and welcome.

This is the 56th season of Varsity Quiz where the best and the brightest high school students match wits in this unique academic competition.

Great to be your host.

I'm Nathan Tannenbaum.

Hey, we hope you know that there are now two separate Varsity Quiz leagues in each season's competition.

We crowned a Blue League champion a couple of weeks ago.

So now the road to the Silver League title continues with Advanced Technologies Academy, A-Tech, taking on West Career and Technical Academy, West-Tech.

So we started with 18 schools in the Silver League.

There are three divisions.

A-Tech undefeated in their division.

Let's meet their players.

We have Mark.

Hi, Mark.

There's Carlo.

There's Callum, and there's William.

A-Tech's coaches, Johnny Nguyen and Chris Argento.

That's A-Tech!

[cheers and applause] And for West Career Technical Academy, they had a record of 3-2 in their division.

Let's meet their starters.

There's Shira.

Hi, Shira, Lucas, Iris, and Pana.

And West-Tech's coach, Gary Crouch.

Ladies and gentlemen, the West Career Technical Academy!

[cheers and applause] Students, you ready?

Let's play Varsity Quiz.

This god was tricked by his wife Rhea into swallowing-- We'll go with West-Tech, Lucas: Cronus -That is correct.

Points on the board for West-Tech.

Let's keep going.

This molecule is produced in the contact process.

What is this diprotic, strong acid with the formula H2SO4?

West-Tech, Lucas: sulfuric acid -Correct.

Next question.

A novel by this author, which opens with the line "A screaming comes across the sky," follows the dispatch of German V-2 rockets.

What famously reclusive author wrote Gravity's Rainbow?

A-Tech, Mark: Patton -No.

[bell chimes, time expires] Looking for Thomas Pynchon.

No points.

Next question.

What quantity, equal to angular momentum over angular velocity, is the rotational analogue of mass?

We'll go with A-Tech, Carlo: moment of inertia -That is correct.

Points on the board for A-Tech.

We keep going.

Calculation question, students.

Answer the following about flipping a coin: Using binomial probability and knowing 5 choose 1 equals 5, what is the probability of getting one head in five flips?

Let me repeat.

The following about flipping a coin: Using binomial probability, knowing 5 choose 1 equals 5, what's the probability of getting one head in five flips?

A-Tech, Callum: .025 -That's incorrect.

And West-Tech, Lucas: 1/64 -No.

We were looking for 5/32.

No points.

We move on.

What body of human characteristics includes traits such as "introverted" and "extroverted?"

A-Tech, Carlo: personality -Correct.

Which novel about the daughter of the esteemed Mr. Woodhouse was written by Jane Austen?

A-Tech, Mark: Emma -Correct.

Agarose is used to create a matrix of what substance in a lab technique-- we'll go with West-Tech, Pana: gel -I think we can take that, yes.

Next question.

California draws large amounts of water from the biggest river in the Southwestern U.S. Name it.

West-Tech, Shira: Colorado -Correct.

Winning the Reform War with Liberals, who is this nationalistic figure and the first indigenous president of Mexico?

A-Tech, Callum: Porfirio Diaz -Incorrect.

[bell chimes, time expires] Benito Juarez.

Next question.

This artist created Girl with Balloon-- A-Tech, Mark: Vermeer -Incorrect.

Let me finish the question.

What English graffiti artist famously has an unknown identity?

West-Tech, Pana: Banksy -That's right.

Next question.

Oliver Hazard Perry was victorious at what war of 1812 battle that was fought on a great lake?

A-Tech, Callum: Lake Erie -Correct.

Beginning when a crescent moon is sighted, what holy month commemorates Muhammad's first-- We'll go with A-Tech, Carlo: Ramadan -Correct.

What semiconductor devices that double for an integrated circuit every two years by Moore's law-- A-Tech,Carlo: CPU -No.

--act as amplifiers or switches?

[bell chimes, time expires] We were looking for transistors.

Next question.

Aspersion, affusion, and immersion are three ways to do this ritual.

What Christian-- That's A-Tech, Callum: baptism -Yes.

What nation's war for independence led to a provisional government declared in Chittagong and now has its capital at Dhaka?

West-Tech, Lucas: Bangladesh -Correct.

Who was the first African American United States Senator, and what state did he represent?

That's A-Tech, Callum: Louisiana -Incorrect.

West-Tech, Iris: South Carolina -No.

We also needed the Senator's name.

It was Hiram Roads Revels of Mississippi.

No points.

Next question is a calculation question, students.

Answer the following about the graph of the equation x^2 - 6x + 8.

What is the equation of the axis of symmetry of that graph?

Repeating.

This following about the graph of the equation x^2 - 6x + 8.

What's the equation of the axis of symmetry of the graph?

A-Tech, Callum: y = 3 -I don't think we can take that.

West-Tech, Lucas: x = 3 -Yes, it was x = 3.

Points for West-Tech.

We move on.

A compromise named for what state prohibited-- That's West-Tech, Lucas: Missouri -Correct.

Next, another calculation question.

Answer the following about a basketball team with eight players on it.

How many ways are there to choose a starting lineup of five players if positions don't matter?

Repeating.

This is about a basketball team with eight players on it.

How many ways are there to choose a starting lineup of five players if positions don't matter?

West-Tech, Lucas: 336 -Incorrect.

[bell chimes, time expires] We were looking for 56.

No points.

We move on.

This 20th century leader established the Pluricontinentalism doctrine.

The 25 de Abril bridge in Lisbon was originally named for what dictator of Portugal?

A-Tech, Carlo: Peron -No.

[bell chimes, time expires] Antonio de Oliveira Salazar.

No points.

Next question.

This campaign's general eventually became the last Roman dictator.

Name the wars led by Julius Caesar against tribes in what's now known as France.

A-Tech, Carlo: Gaul -No.

[bell chimes, time expires] You were on the right track.

The Gallic Wars.

No points.

Next question.

A song from this country describes a robbery on a mountain road.

The lyrics "fight me like a man!"

appear in this song-- And that's A-Tech, Callum: Ireland -That's right.

Name the novel subtitled "A Study of Provincial Life," written by George Eliot.

A-Tech, Mark: Finnegans Wake -No.

[bell chimes, time expires] -The novel Middlemarch.

Next question.

This group, which gained control of Alamut Castle in 1090 CE, was established by Hassan-i Sabbah and often used poisoned daggers.

[bell chimes, time expires] We're talking about the assassins.

Okay.

Hey, that wraps up our first round.

Can I have a round of applause for both of these teams.

They're doing great, but don't go anywhere.

We're going to get to know our players.

We'll start over here with A-Tech.

We have freshman Mark.

Hey, Mark.

-Hi.

-How's it going?

-Good.

How are you?

-I'm mostly sunny.

This says here that you are a member of the Cribbage Club.

That's one of my favorite card games.

Is anybody there?

Are there members of a club that plays cribbage?

-Yeah.

There's actually a lot of members.

It was started by one of the seniors now, and my dad is actually one of the instructors of it.

If you don't know the game, find out.

It's an awesome game.

Good luck with that, Mark, and good luck on Varsity Quiz.

Here's senior Carlo.

Hey, Carlo.

-Hello.

-Good to see you again.

This says here that you can program in a lot of programming languages.

There's a million programming languages, aren't there?

-Yeah.

-What are you most fluent at?

-Oh, let's say Python.

-Gesundheit.

-[indistinct] -Good luck with that, and good luck on Varsity Quiz.

Thanks, Carlo.

Here's senior Callum.

Hey, Callum.

-Hi.

-One of your hobbies here, camping.

Do you have a favorite spot to go camping?

-Not particularly, but I enjoy a lot of the locations on Mount Charleston.

-Oh, that's a great spot.

And hopefully the roads and the trails are getting improved up there after the damage.

Good luck, and good luck on Varsity Quiz.

Here's junior William.

Hi, William.

-Hello.

-Good to have you with us.

This says that one of your hobbies is annoying Callum.

How's that going?

-Well, I take great pride in it.

-Well, but, I mean, we've said it publicly, so that's got to be a win right there.

-Yeah.

-Good luck with that, and good luck on Varsity Quiz.

Those are our players from A-Tech.

Thank you guys.

Okay.

Now let's meet our players from West-Tech.

We start with a junior, Shira.

Hi, Shira.

-Hi.

-Nice to see you.

You have a TV show that you are apparently obsessed with.

What is that?

-Grey's Anatomy.

-And what is it about that show that's grabbed you?

-I don't know, just how every episode is a little bit different and all of the, like-- I actually learned a lot from just watching the show.

-Okay.

You don't have a favorite character; they're all your favorite?

-I'd say it kind of changes, but right now it's Christina Yang.

-Okay.

Well, good luck with your binge watching.

-Thank you.

-And good luck on Varsity Quiz.

Here's sophomore Lucas.

Hi, Lucas.

-Hello.

-Good to see you.

This says that you just won a specific tournament in the district.

Do you remember what you wrote?

-Yeah.

It was the CCSD Team Championships.

Our school's team won.

-For chess.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, that's pretty awesome.

How many players on your team.

-Five.

-And did you just like ace everybody, or was it a tough round?

-We actually went undefeated, which-- -There you go.

Well, good luck with chess, man, and good luck on Varsity Quiz.

-Thank you.

-Here's freshman Iris.

-Hi.

-Good to see you.

This says that you have done something down at the Grand Canyon.

What did you do?

-I hiked rim to rim in about 12 hours.

-Well, that's pretty amazing.

You had to be exhausted.

-Yeah, I was pretty tired.

-I hope it wasn't in the middle of summer.

-No, sir.

It was, I think, in October.

-Good.

Well, good luck with climbing, and good luck here on Varsity Quiz.

And here's freshman Pana.

Hi, Pana.

-Hi.

-Good to see you.

This says you speak a foreign language.

-I do.

-What is that language?

-I speak Greek.

-And how did you learn that?

-Well, my family's originally from Greece, so I've learned, like, as I'm growing up, and I-- -So it's talked around the house?

-Yeah.

-Awesome.

Good luck with that, and good luck on Varsity Quiz.

That's the team from West-Tech.

And our bonus round, coming right up.

Your score going into Round 2: A-Tech has 25 points to West-Tech's 40.

Hey, before we get going, we have one new player for A-Tech.

We say hello to Ragaavi.

Hi, Ragaavi.

Nice to have you here.

West has two new players.

There's Sebastian.

Hey, Sebastian.

-Hi.

-Good to have you.

And there's Amber.

Hello, Amber.

-Hi.

-This round is timed at six minutes, and that time starts as I begin this question: "Tunnelers" that bury feces, and "rollers" that roll it up before eating it, are examples of what kind of beetle?

A-Tech, Ragaavi: dung -Yeah.

All right, we have bonus science questions for A-Tech only.

First, plant hormones often travel via this class that includes the carriers of water and solutes, xylem and phloem, respectively.

And second, in Southern Alaska, the Pacific Plates going underneath the North American Plate in this process, which can create inland volcanic arcs and ocean trenches.

[students deliberate] Captain.

-First one, no answer; second one, subduction.

-Subduction is correct.

The first one was vascular tissue.

So you get some bonus points, not all.

And this question now for both teams: One player of this instrument who composed Memories of the Alhambra was Francisco Tarrega.

Flamenco music often features what six-stringed instruments?

A-Tech, Mark: guitar -Correct.

We have some bonus music questions now for A-Tech only.

First, Christian Ludwig commissioned J.S.

Bach to write these pieces, which were completed in 1721.

Second, the first full performance of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle was conducted in this city's opera house.

[students deliberate] Captain.

-First one is Brandenburg Concertos; second one is Berlin.

-Brandenburg is correct.

I believe the second answer is Bayreuth, so you got some bonus points, but not all.

Now this question for both teams: The US Naval Academy, located in what Maryland-- A-Tech, Callum: Annapolis -Correct.

Bonus questions for A-Tech about Maryland.

First, the western portion of Maryland contains stretches of what mountain range?

Second, Baltimore, Maryland's largest employers are this university and its hospital.

[students deliberate] Captain.

-First one is Appalachian Mountains; second one is John Hopkins.

-Both are correct.

You got bonus points.

Now this question for both teams: It's a calculation question.

Maria is twice as old as her youngest brother.

If the difference between their ages is 15 years, how old is her youngest brother?

Let me repeat.

Maria, twice as old as her youngest brother.

If the difference between their ages is 15 years, how old is the youngest brother?

A-Tech, Carlo: 7 1/2 -Incorrect.

West-Tech, Lucas: 15 -Correct.

Bonus calculation questions now for West-Tech only.

First, if the quantity y(x-1) = z, then what does x equal?

Second, if 5 ounces is equal to 140 grams, then 2 pounds of ground beef is equal to how many grams?

Repeating.

If y(x-1) = z, what does x equal?

And second, if 5 ounces is equal to 140 grams, then 2 pounds of ground beef is equal to how many grams?

[students deliberate] Captain.

-For the first, z/y+1; and the second one, 280.

-First one is correct.

The second one was 896 grams.

You get some bonus points, not all.

And this question for both teams: What Danish island with the capital Nuuk is-- That's West-Tech, Lucas: Greenland -Correct.

Bonus questions for West-Tech only now about islands.

First, which of the Hawaiian islands was home to a leper colony?

And second, the issue of sovereignty of which islands has been a point of contention between Britain and Argentina?

[students deliberate] Captain.

-For the first one, Kauai; and the second one, Falkland.

-Falkland is correct.

The island that was a leper colony was Molokai.

You get some bonus points, not all.

Here's a question for both teams: The Warren Commission investigated what 1963 event-- That's A-Tech, Mark: The assassination of JFK.

-That is correct.

And we have bonus questions now for A-Tech only about history.

First, this Soviet dog orbited the Earth in 1957 aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft.

Second, Simón Bolivar created this country that lasted for just 12 years, encompassing Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, and a modern-day country resembling part of its current name.

[students deliberate] Captain.

-First one's Aionga; second one's Gran Colombia.

Grand Colombia is correct.

The first one was Laika.

Some bonus points, not all.

Here we go.

Next question.

A semi-autobiographical work focusing on the religious experience of John Grimes is by what author of Go Tell it on the Mountain?

A-Tech, Mark: James Baldwin -That is correct.

Bonus questions now about literature for A-Tech only.

First, a chapter of this novel titled "Story of a Return" takes place after its protagonist receives swans of bread.

This Marjane Satrapi novel is named after an ancient Persian city.

Second, in the novel Jane Eyre, Grace Poole was wrongfully blamed for the burning of Thornfield Hall, which this mentally unstable woman actually committed.

You have 10 seconds.

[students deliberate] Captain.

-The first one's Antioch; second one is Miss Rochester.

-Both are incorrect.

We were looking for Persepolis and Bertha Mason.

No bonus points.

We've come to the end of the bonus round.

Our speed round is coming up.

All right, the score going into Round 3: A-Tech now has 75 points to West-Tech's 60.

Before we get to our speed round, we have one new player for A-Tech.

We say hello to Bryan.

Hi, Bryan.

-Hello.

-Nice to have you here.

And one new player for West-Tech.

It's Haydn.

Hi, Haydn.

Nice to have you here.

Let's get this party started.

Name these devices which are used to "step up" and "step down"-- That's A-Tech, Carlo: transformer -Correct.

What strong acid is produced naturally by the stomach-- And that's A-Tech, Carlo: hydrochloric acid -Yes.

What organization is the primary regulator of international trade?

[bell chimes, time expires] It's the WTO, the World Trade Organization.

No points.

Next question.

Which country has the most FIFA World Cup wins?

They hosted the 2016 Olympics.

That's West-Tech, Haydn: Brazil -Correct.

Will marries Carol Kennicott in what 1920 novel set in Gopher Prairie, the work by Sinclair Lewis?

A-Tech, Mark: Chicago -No.

[bell chimes, time expires] The novel Main Street.

Next question.

Name this city where you can see the works of Rembrandt and learn about Anne Frank's secret annex.

West-Tech, Pana: Amsterdam -Yes.

What compounds follow the chemical formula R-O-R, were famously used-- That's A-Tech, Carlo: ethers -Yeah.

What school of philosophy is named after an ancient Greek thinker that's often contrasted with Stoicism because of its focus on pleasure?

A-Tech, Carlo: Hedonism -No.

[bell chimes, time expires] You're on the right track.

Epicurus is what we're looking for.

No points.

Next question.

BCS theory explains the properties of what materials that have zero resistance to electric current?

A-Tech, Carlo: superconductors -That's correct.

People immediately go into REM as soon as they fall asleep if they have what disorder that leads to drowsiness and daytime sleep attacks?

West-Tech, Amber: narcolepsy -Yes.

Next question.

What disease causes red blood cells to take on a crescent shape?

A-Tech, Carlo: sickle cell anemia -Correct.

Ferries across what lake from Marquette, Michigan, can take you to Isle Royale National Park?

And that's A-Tech, Callum: Lake Michigan -Incorrect.

West-Tech, Lucas: Huron -No.

We were looking for Lake Superior.

You guys were dancing around it.

We move on.

What Greek author of several fragments wrote to the "Daughter of Zeus" in her "Ode to Aphrodite"?

A-Tech, Mark: Sappho -Yes.

Hey, a calculation question.

We don't repeat here in the third round, so listen up.

Answer the following about an infinite geometric sequence whose first term is 3 and whose third term is 12.

So what is the sum of the reciprocals of each term of the sequence?

A-Tech, Callum: 4/6 -Yes, I think we can take that.

[confers with judges] That is correct.

Next question.

It's not France, but Basque separatists operate in what nation, where-- That's A-Tech, Carlo: Spain -Yes.

Secant is the inverse of what trigonometric function-- West-Tech, Lucas: cosine -Yes.

Name this American poet of "Paul Revere's Ride."

A-Tech, Mark: Longfellow -Yes.

Sponges are the only phylum without what structural property, whose "bilateral" form humans have?

A-Tech, Callum: symmetry -Yes.

Next question.

The title creature has a "fearful symmetry"-- And that's A-Tech, Mark: "The Tyger" -Yes.

Next question.

What Central American nation's economy inspired O. Henry to coin the term "Banana Republic"?

A-Tech, Carlo: Guatemalan -Incorrect.

That's West-Tech, Lucas: Honduras -Correct.

What element, whose trifluoride is a common Lewis acid and has atomic number five, violates-- West-Tech, Lucas: boron -That's right.

What quantity, which never decreases in an isolated system per the second law of thermodynamics, measures-- That's A-Tech, Callum: entropy -That's right.

Name the photographer who collaborated with Mary Austin on the book Taos Pueblo.

He also photographed Monolith-- We'll go with A-Tech, Mark: Ansel Adams -That's right.

Poems in this genre center around melancholy, autumn, and a nightingale.

John Keats-- That's A-Tech, Mark: odes -Yes.

What is the most populous island in the U.S., home to the Hamptons along with the boroughs of Queens-- And that's A-Tech, Callum: Long Island -That's right.

What country, which launched a military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh in September '23, is east of Armenia and is led from Baku?

A-Tech, Carlo: [no response] -I think we have to take that as a no answer.

Do we have time?

[confers with judges] Lucas, West-Tech: Azerbaijan -That's right.

Next question.

The economist Milton Friedman argued that long-term inflation would break the Phillips Curve, instead producing this term for slow economic growth and price inflation.

A-Tech, Callum: stagflation -That's right.

Name the third partner of Delilah, who loses his strength when his hair is cut.

A-Tech, Mark: Samson -Yes.

What company designs processors such as the Ryzen 9-- A-Tech, Carlo: AMD -Yes.

Anne Bradstreet was from what country, where Phillis Wheatley wrote, "To His Excellency General Washington"?

A-Tech, Mark: USA -That is correct, and we've run out of questions.

So let's find out who won.

The final score: A-Tech 170 to West Career Technical Academy 95.

-How about a round of applause for both teams, a great match.

And congratulations to A-Tech on the win.

We invite you to tune in next week, because we got Bishop Gorman taking on Clark.

That should be a pretty exciting night right here on Varsity Quiz on Vegas PBS.

♪♪♪