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

-Coming up next, it's Garrett... [cheers and applause] ...taking on Lied!

[cheers and applause] This is the Junior Varsity Quiz Virtual League Championship!

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

The 56th season of Varsity Quiz continues now with the Junior Varsity Quiz.

Honored to be your host, Nathan Tannenbaum.

You know, back in February, there were eight middle school and junior high school teams that competed in a Virtual JVQ league.

Then in March, we had 30 middle and junior high school teams competing in a one-day tournament over at Chaparral High School.

Well, Garrett Junior High School and Lied Middle School consistently placed in the top of the Virtual League matches to earn their place at the Virtual League Championship today.

So before we get started, we wanted to meet our players.

For Garrett, we have Cameron.

Hi, Cameron.

Good to see you.

There's Travis.

Hey, Travis.

Xyrin.

Hi, Xyrin.

And Brennan.

Hey, Brennan.

And the coach for Garrett, Heidi Marmo.

Ladies and gentlemen, Garrett.

[cheers and applause] Now let's meet our players for Lied.

We got two young ladies named Grace.

We have Grace H. Hi, Grace H. -Hi.

-Grace D., nice to see you.

There's Derrick.

Howdy, Derrick.

-Hey.

-And then there's Ryan.

And the coach for Lied is Chelsea Schoenbeck.

[cheers and applause] Ready?

Let's play Varsity Quiz.

Camden Yards is the home stadium of what American League East Major League Baseball team that plays in Baltimore?

Lied, Derrick: Baltimore Ravens -Incorrect.

[bell chimes, time expires] The Ravens is the football team.

The baseball team is the Baltimore Orioles.

No points.

We move on to the next question.

Which short story by Edgar Allan Poe features a narrator who insists he is sane despite hearing a tell-tale-- We'll go with Lied, Ryan: "The Tell-Tale Heart" -Yeah.

You don't need to lean in.

We got you, Ryan.

That's a correct answer.

Lied's got points on the board.

We move on.

What city which hosts an annual Balloon Fiesta is the largest in New Mexico?

[bell chimes, time expires] Albuquerque.

No points.

Next question.

Cedalion guided this man to the Far East, where his sight was restored by Helios.

Name this great hunter who threatened to kill every beast on Earth and died after being stung by a huge scorpion.

Lied, Grace D.: Orion -That's correct.

More points for Lied as we go on.

This body creates Van Allen belts due to its namesake wind.

Name this body that causes geomagnetic storms when its radiation interacts with Earth's magnetic field.

Lied, Derrick: acid rain -Incorrect.

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

Next question.

In Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, the bird, duck, and cat are represented by the flute, the oboe, and the clarinet, all three of which are members of this instrument family.

That's Garrett, Xyrin: woodwind -That's correct.

Points on the board for Garrett.

Let's keep going.

The Linear B script depicts an early form of this language used in Mycenae.

What ancient language used an alphabet with letters such as alpha and beta?

Lied, Derrick: Greek -That's correct.

The "difference" between two of these numbers can be expressed as the factorization (a - b)(a + b).

It's not a calculation question, but we want you to name these numbers, such as 16 and 25 that result from multiplying an integer-- Lied, Ryan: perfect squares -Yes.

What devices have ionization and photoelectric varieties and are required by fire code to be installed in every bedroom of a new house?

Lied, Derrick: smoke alarms -I think we can take that, yes.

In what European country does the National Rally oppose Emmanuel Macron?

Lied, Grace D.: France -Yes.

Name this most beautiful woman in the world, who was abducted by Paris to start the Trojan War.

[bell chimes, time expires] Helen of Troy.

Next question.

What's the most popular drink in the world, after water?

And that's Garrett, Cameron: soda -Incorrect.

Lied, Grace D.: coffee -No.

It's tea.

I think America is the coffee country.

All right, no points.

Next question.

What event caused the death of teacher Christa McAuliffe after O-ring failures in a space shuttle?

That's Garrett, Travis: rocket ship explosion -We needed more.

[bell chimes, time expires] Okay.

We were looking for the Challenger space shuttle disaster.

No points.

Next question.

What do you call an animal that eats only plants?

That's Garrett, Cameron: herbivore -Correct.

Points for Garrett as we move on.

Maria Beetle, that's a dark comedy crime novel by the author Kotero Isaka, published in 2010, in what language that was later translated to English as Bullet Train?

Garrett, Cameron: Mandarin Incorrect.

Lied, Derrick: Japanese -Correct.

Next, students, is a calculation question.

Answer the following about a Junior Varsity Quiz tournament with 12 teams.

If half of the teams have four players, a third of the teams have five players, and one-sixth of the teams have six players, how many players in total are at the tournament?

And we're going to go with Garrett, Cameron: 48 -Incorrect.

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

No points.

Next question.

A "breach" occurs when one party violates the terms of what sort of legally binding agreement between two parties?

Lied, Derrick: contract -Correct.

This man changed his Twitter bio to "Dragon Believer" after the hosts of The View TV show accused him of believing in dragons.

Name the man who hosts his namesake "Experience" podcast on the Spotify.

Lied, Ryan: Joe Rogan -Correct.

Next question.

What action, which was prohibited in New York City by signs reading "Don't Even Think of [blanking] Here" can be restricted by alternate side rules, commonly done on streetsides using the parallel method?

Lied, Derrick: parking -That's right.

A meteorologist's prediction about the weather conditions in a specific region is called what?

Lied, Grace H.: forecast -That's right.

The Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in what region of the US?

Jefferson Davis was the first and only President of this region.

Garrett, Cameron: South -No.

That's not the answer we were looking for.

Lied, Derrick: Southeast -No.

We were looking for the Confederacy.

No points.

Next question.

What show on ABC that includes Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie as judges is a singing competition?

Lied, Grace H.: American Idol -That's right.

What estuary is formed by the confluence of the Parana and Uruguay Rivers?

It also separates Montevideo from Buenos Aires.

[bell chimes, time expires] Rio de la Plata.

Next question.

This curve's eccentricity is always 1, since the distance between a point on it and both the directrix and focus are equal.

So name this conic section that's produced by graphing a quadratic function.

Garrett, Cameron: slope -No.

[bell chimes, time expires] [buzzer sound] That's after the buzzer.

You'll kick yourselves.

Parabola.

Does that make sense?

Okay.

Next question.

This city's highest point is located in the region Coconut Grove.

Name the city devastated in 1992 by Hurricane Andrew along with neighboring Broward and Palm Beach Counties.

[bell chimes, time expires] Hurricane Andrew beat up Miami, Florida.

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

Can we have a round of applause for these teams?

[cheers and applause] But don't go anywhere.

We're going to take a second to get to know our players a little bit more.

We'll start with Garrett.

We have an 8th grader, Cameron.

Hi, Cameron.

-Hi.

-How's it going?

-Good.

-You wrote here that you're part of the choir over there at Garrett Junior High?

-Yes, I'm part of the Advanced Choir and the Show Choir.

-That's great.

So what part do you sing?

-I'm baritone or tenor.

-Okay.

And you guys have shows coming up, or you guys-- -Yeah.

Actually, we have multiple.

-Okay.

Well, good luck with all of them, man.

-Thank you.

-Good luck on Varsity Quiz.

That's Cameron.

Here's 6th grader, Travis.

Hi, Travis.

-Hi.

-You wrote here that you play video games.

Do you have a favorite?

-Kirby.

-I've never heard of-- Kirby?

-Yes.

-Oh, I remember Kirby.

Okay, good.

Have fun with that, Travis.

And good luck on Varsity Quiz.

Here's 8th grader Xyrin.

Hi, Xyrin.

-Hello.

-You wrote here that you have a hobby, Rubik's Cube.

Do you have a best time on solving the cube?

-24 seconds.

-Oh, boy.

That's pretty good.

Keep up the good work with the Rubik's Cube, and good luck here on Varsity Quiz.

That's Xyrin.

And here's 8th grader, Brennan.

Hi, Brennan.

-Hi.

-You wrote that you do art?

-Yes.

-What art do you do?

-Generally, drawing.

-Okay.

Keep up the good work with the art, and good luck here on Varsity Quiz.

Thanks, Brennan.

That's our players from Garrett Junior High!

[cheers and applause] Okay.

Let's meet our players from Lied.

We have two young ladies named Grace.

We'll start with 8th grader, Grace H. Hi, Grace H. -Hi.

-You have a hobby of baking?

-Yes.

I love to do it with my sister.

We bake every Christmas.

-Are you talking about cookies, cakes, all of that?

-All of it.

-Awesome.

Well, next time you're down here, bring some, okay?

[laughter] Thank you, Grace H. Here's Grace D. Hi, Grace D. -Hi.

-You wrote that something awful happened to you when you're in 2nd grade.

Do you remember what you wrote?

-Yeah.

So somebody was trying to throw a rock over a fence, but it bounced back and hit me, so I had to go to a doctor and get staples.

-Well, that was a long time ago.

So I hope everything's okay.

-Mm-hmm.

-Awesome.

Well, good luck on Varsity Quiz, Grace D. Here's 7th grader, Ryan.

Hi, Ryan.

-Hello.

-Oh, I'm sorry.

I skipped Derrick.

I'll get back to you.

But Ryan, you said you're part of the Chess Tournament Squad.

-Yep.

-How does that work?

-We just go every Wednesday-- every first and third Wednesday of the month, and then we just play chess.

-I mean, how many people are on the Chess Squad?

-Right now, ten.

But there was other members.

-Wow.

Okay, well, keep playing the chess, and good luck with that.

And sorry, Derrick.

I didn't mean to skip you.

I wanted to say-- ask you about this, something that you put on your calculator.

Do you remember what you wrote?

-I put Pokemon Crystal on my TI-84 Plus CE Graphing Calculator.

-How does that work?

-There's quite a few tutorials on YouTube, and I thought it was pretty cool to do, to fiddle around with my calculator.

-Right on.

Well, thank you, Derrick.

Good luck with that and on Varsity Quiz.

Ladies and gentlemen, the students from Lied Middle School!

[cheers and applause] Hey, don't go anywhere.

The bonus round coming right up.

[crashing sound] All right.

The score as we enter Round 2: Garrett has 10 points to Lied's 60 points.

We do have some new players, so we want to make sure you get introduced.

For Garrett, we have three new players.

There's Gary.

Hi, Gary.

-Hello.

-Hi, Gavin.

-What's up?

Xyrin's a returning player.

And then there's Quinlan.

Hi, Quinlan.

-Hey.

-Nice to see you.

And for Lied, we have four new players.

So let's say hello to Alison.

Hey, Alison.

-Hi.

-Liana.

-Hi.

-Andrew.

-Hello.

-And Rylen.

-Hi.

-Now this round is timed at six minutes, and that time starts as I begin this question: This state's town, Pigeon Forge, contains its most popular attraction, the Dollywood theme park.

Another of this state's cities is the Great Smoky Mountains-- in the Great Smoky Mountains is Knoxville.

That's Garrett, Gary: Tennessee -Correct.

Bonus questions now for Garrett only about geography.

First, Ottawa is the capital of this North American country, located north of the United States.

Second Bill Clinton's presidential library is in this state capital of Arkansas.

[students deliberate] Captain.

-For Number 1, it's Canada; and for Number 2, it's Little Rock.

-Both are correct.

You got bonus points.

Now this toss-up question for both teams: What NBA player played minor league baseball for two years in the mid-1990s, putting a gap between his two 3-peats when he led the Chicago Bulls?

We'll go with Lied, Andrew: Michael Jordan -That's right.

So bonus pop culture questions now for Lied only.

First, Skull and Bones is a secret society at this university, an Ivy League located in New Haven, Connecticut.

Second, the movie character Dirty Harry, played by this actor and director who also appeared in movies such as the Dollars Trilogy and Gran Torino.

[students deliberate] Captain.

-So for the first one, we have MIT; for the second, we don't know.

-The first one was Yale University, and the actor, Clint Eastwood.

No bonus points.

You get the questions for-- the points for the original question.

Now this tossup for both teams: Which novel follows the Joad family as they travel from Oklahoma to California in the Dust Bowl?

[bell chimes, time expires] -You want to look up The Grapes of Wrath, a great American novel.

Next question is a calculation question.

A right triangle has legs of 6 centimeters and 8 centimeters.

What's the hypotenuse?

We'll go with Lied, Liana: 10 centimeters -That is correct.

Bonus calculation questions now for Lied only.

First, a bag contains five red, four blue, and three green marbles.

What is the probability of picking a blue marble?

And your second question, a number is chosen randomly from 1 to 10.

What's the probability of picking a prime number?

[students deliberate] Captain.

-For the first answer, we have 33.33%; and for our second, we have 40%.

-The first one is correct.

I'm not sure about the second one.

[confers with judges] Is two-fifths 40%?

Okay, both.

You got bonus points.

Thank you.

Okay.

So now a toss-up question for both teams.

What phenomenon also nicknames a Beethoven sonata that likened to its shining off Lake Lucerne at night?

Garrett, Gavin: symphony -Incorrect.

Lied, Alison: Aurora Borealis -No.

It's a simpler thing.

We were looking for the Moonlight Sonata.

No points.

Next question.

Tossup for both teams.

During what event did Alexander Berkman fail to assassinate Henry Clay Frick, who hired Pinkerton detectives to stop striking workers at a Western Pennsylvania Carnegie Steel plant in 1892?

[bell chimes, time expires] It was the Homestead Strike.

No points.

The next question is a tossup for both teams.

Keratinization allows this organ to become waterproof.

Name this largest organ of the body, which is divided into the dermis and the epidermis.

Lied, Liana: the skin -Correct.

Bonus science questions now for Lied only.

First, the North American plate is made of continental and oceanic types of this layer of the Earth, as well as some of the mantle that lies below this layer.

Second, amino acids are characterized by their amino group, which contains hydrogen and this element, which is also the most abundant gas in the atmosphere.

[students deliberate] -We have our answers.

-Go.

-For the first, we have crust; for the second, we have nitrogen.

-Both are correct.

You got bonus points.

Now this tossup for both teams.

What man is trapped in a cave by a magician before escaping with a magic ring and creating a palace with the help of a magic lamp?

Garrett, Gary: Aladdin -That's right.

We have bonus questions now about literature for Garrett only.

First, this book, written by Charlotte Bronte, follows the title character as she becomes governess of Thornfield Hall and ends up marrying Mr. Rochester.

Second, in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, who's the small character with a crutch?

[students deliberate] Captain.

-For the first one, we have nothing.

And for the second one, it's Timmy.

-I don't think we can take that.

For the first one is Jane Eyre, and we needed Tiny Tim.

So no bonus questions.

We've come to the end of the round.

How about a round of applause for both teams.

[cheers and applause] Stick around for the speed round.

All right.

The score going into Round 3: Garrett has 30 points.

Lied has 95.

But we say it only because we mean it, anything can happen in the speed round.

We got some new players.

For Garrett, we have a returning player.

There's Cameron.

Welcome back.

And a new player, Adam.

Hi, Adam.

-Hi.

-Lied, we have four brand new players as well.

We say hello to Xavier.

Hey, Xavier.

-Hi.

-There's Zack.

Hey, Zack.

Hannah.

-Hey.

-Hello.

And Serena.

-Hi.

-The round begins as I read this question: During the bombardment of Baltimore's Fort McHenry in the War of 1812, this man wrote "The Star Spangled Banner" while aboard-- We'll go with Garrett, Gary: Francis Scott Key -That's correct.

Next question.

What semiprecious stone has often been used in Chinese art?

That's Garrett, Cameron: jade -Yes.

What language, used to write the line "Tonight I write the saddest lines" in the collection Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, was used by Pablo Neruda, an author from Chile?

Lied, Xavier: Spanish -Correct.

When sheet music shows the word "fortissimo," how should a musician play?

Lied, Zack: very loudly -Yes.

Charles Woodson played for what university that plays "The Game" every November with rival Ohio State?

Lied, Xavier: Michigan -I think we can take that.

Absolutely.

All right.

What sort of character fights for good against villains?

Lied, Zack: heroes -Yes.

Oliver Wendell Holmes claimed this amendment did not protect somebody's right to shout "fire" in a crowded theater-- Lied, Hannah: the First Amendment -That's right.

Zazen, or Zazen, is a form of this practice in Zen Buddhism.

Monks often chant "om"-- That's Garrett, Gavin: meditating -That's right.

What Midwestern city hosts the largest one-day sporting event in the world on its Motor Speedway?

It's a 500-mile long car race.

That's Garrett, Cameron: Miami, Florida -Incorrect.

Lied, Xavier: Indianapolis -It's the Indianapolis 500.

That's right.

Next question.

What structure is composed of cellulose in plants and is an additional protective organelle that surrounds the cell membrane?

Garrett, Gavin: cell wall -That's right.

Calculation question.

Here in this third round, we don't repeat, so listen up.

What's the average value of the first five perfect squares?

[bell chimes, time expires] I can see the gears turn, and we were looking for 11.

No points.

Next question.

Name this author who asked, "What happens to a dream deferred?"

in his poem "Harlem."

That's Lied, Serena: Shakespeare -Incorrect.

[bell chimes, time expires] Doesn't hurt to guess.

We were going with Langston Hughes.

No points.

Next question.

What man, who was backed by Russia, was overthrown as the president of Syria in December 2024?

Lied, Zack: Bashar al-Assad -That is right.

What animal titles an interlude in an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Kosikov that uses chromatic 16th notes in its run to mimic its flight?

Garrett, Cameron: swan -No.

Lied, Hannah: a pigeon -Pardon me?

-A pigeon?

-No.

We were looking for the "Flight of the Bumblebees."

No points.

Next-- The Flight of the Pigeons [cooing].

Next question.

Due to ongoing drought conditions, the Northeast region has been at high risk for what natural disasters that can cause-- We'll go with Garrett, Gary: wildfires -I think we can take that, yes.

What monarch, also known as the "Lawgiver," expanded the Ottoman Empire to its largest territorial extent?

That's Lied, Zack: Ataturk -Incorrect.

Garrett, Gavin: Alexander the Great -No.

We were looking for Suleiman the Magnificent.

No points.

Next question.

What country, whose prime minister is Anthony Albanese, has the internet-- That's Lied, Zack: Australia -Correct.

What philosopher compared himself to a gadfly while being sentenced to death by hemlock for corrupting the youth of Athens-- That's Garrett, Gary: Socrates -That's right.

Which tense is used in this sentence: By next year, they will have graduated from high school.

Garrett, Gary: future -We need more.

We'll go with Lied, Zack: future tense -Yeah, we needed more.

It's the future perfect tense, because there's different futures.

Next question.

No points.

Here we go.

Name the constructs with "while" and "for" types which contain code to be executed repeatedly.

Lied, Zack: DNA -No.

[bell chimes, time expires] We were going for computer code loops.

Next question.

During this US President's time in office, the United States intervened in the Mexican Revolution and the First World War.

[bell chimes, time expires] Woodrow Wilson.

Next question.

What are the only birds that migrate by swimming?

Lied, Zack: ducks -No.

Garrett, Gary: penguins -That's right, penguins.

Next question.

In ballet, this synonym for "tip" refers to the technique of only standing on your toes.

[buzzer sound] [bell chimes] I think he got in in time.

Garrett, Gary: point -Yes.

Macau was handed over to China in 1999 by which European country?

Lied, Zack: Portugal -That's right.

What's the name of the deepest known point in the ocean?

Lied, Xavier: Mariana Trench -Yes.

We're out of time.

Let's find out who won.

[crashing sound] And our final score: Garrett Junior High School, 70 points, to Lied Middle School's 145.

Congratulations to both teams, an excellent match.

[cheers and applause] But congratulations to the 2024-2025 Junior Varsity Quiz Virtual League champions, Lied Middle School!

[cheers and applause] But, hey, we have a couple of plaques that we want to give to each team's captain and the coach.

For 2nd place in the JVQ Virtual League, there you go, Garrett Junior High School.

Congratulations, you guys.

Thank you.

You can hang onto that.

Oops!

Sorry.

Yep.

I was making sure that you were paying attention.

Thanks, you guys.

And here's the plaque for the Virtual League JVQ champions.

It is Lied Middle School!

[cheers and applause] I was trying to figure out why he didn't want to hold that one.

Hey, don't go anywhere, because next week, we invite you to join us on the journey toward the Junior Varsity Quiz Silver League Championship.

It's going to be Miller Middle School taking on Cadwallader in the first of two semi-final matches.

So join us next week for more Junior Varsity Quiz right here on Vegas PBS.