New Scaratings

Warm-up Round (10 Questions, 500 Points each, 14 seconds to answer after posting of Question & 5 Choices; No Clues):

1. Which person was an acclaimed English novelist of the 20th Century?_______________________
[Choices: R.C. Owens, Owen Chamberlain, E.M. Forster, Frank Selke, Lester Pearson ]

2. The country of Peru is home to the mysterious _________________ lines.
[Choices: Gobekli, Nazca, Pikachu, Chaco, Andalusia ]

3. Which word means "to bully or coerce"?______________________
[Choices: Fescue, Muriate, Prodrome, Smatter, Bludgeon ]

4. The country of Thailand used to be known as:______________________.
[Choices: Bavaria, Burma, Siam, Ceylon, Cathay ]

5. Which of these is a cut of beef?________________________
[Choices: Baba ghanoush, Amandine, Pastila, Porterhouse, Stroopwafel ]

6. Which person won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001?____________________
[Choices: Dick Cheney, Adam Vinatieri, Eric McCormick, Michael Chabon, Alfonso Ribiero ]

7. A region which gets less than 10 inches of rainfall a year is called a:____________________.
[Choices: Desert, Rainforest, Canyon, Biome, Tundra ]

8. Which professional would most likely use a swizzle stick?________________________
[Choices: Plumber, Cashier, Bartender, Detective, Nurse ]

9. The Sydney funnel-web is an extremely toxic:_____________________.
[Choices: Plant, Coral, Bird, Snake, Spider ]

10. What type of company is the Lufthansa group?______________________
[Choices: Motorcycle, Aviation, Space travel, Automobile, Railway ]




Countdown Round (12 Questions, 1000 Points each, Points decrease rapidly from 4 to 16 seconds, and with 3 Clues):

11. Syracuse, New York is named after a city in:____________________.
[Choices: Italy, Uruguay, South Africa, Ghana, Scotland ]

12. In regards to the human body, keloids are:_______________________.
[Choices: Fractures, Scars, Cancerous growths, Infections, Burns ]

13. In what year did the F.B.I. first release its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list?___________________
[Choices: 1970, 1910, 1990, 1930, 1950 ]

14. "The Bells", a symphony by Sergei Rachmaninoff, takes its title from a poem by:___________________.
[Choices: Robert Frost, Gore Vidal, Salvador Dali, Henry W. Longfellow, Edgar Allan Poe ]

15. This alloy is usually made of copper, nickel and zinc:_______________________.
[Choices: Stainless steel, Antimony, Aluminum, Pewter, Nickel silver ]

16. Michigan recently became the first U.S. state to ban the sale of:_____________________.
[Choices: Driverless cars, Private insurance plans, Flavored e-cigarettes, Reptiles, Energy drinks ]

17. Which sci-fi author wrote the 1971 children's book "The Halloween Tree"?_______________________
[Choices: Jackie Collins, Ray Bradbury, Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke, Gore Vidal ]

18. The metical is this country's currency:________________________.
[Choices: Malaysia, Madagascar, Moldova, Mauritania, Mozambique ]

19. A dybbuk is a malicious entity in ___________________ lore.
[Choices: Judaic, Chinese, Navajo, Arabic, Japanese ]

20. Spain was the winner of last month's FIBA _______________________ World Cup.
[Choices: Boxing, Badminton, Basketball, Billiards, Baseball ]

21. Bulgarian is a ___________________ language.
[Choices: Romance, Sanskrit, Turkic, Germanic, Slavic ]

22. A spirit named Ariel is featured in which Shakespeare play?____________________
[Choices: Love's Labour's Lost, The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, Othello, Macbeth ]




Category Round (6 Questions, 1000 Points each, Points decrease from 4 to 20 seconds, and with 3 Clues; Category chosen by majority vote at each Site):

23.(a) CHEMISTRY CLASS v What is it?: What is produced when ammonia is oxidized over a platinum catalyst?________________________
[Choices: Nitric acid, Barium sulfate, Chlorine monoxide, Deuterium, Aluminum ]

24.(a) Opera v FEMALE FIRSTS: The first woman to climb the tallest peaks on all seven continents was from:______________________.
[Choices: Togo, Russia, Cyprus, Japan, Switzerland ]

25.(a) Awards v ARCHAEOLOGY: Archaeologists have discovered nine layers of the ruins of:______________________.
[Choices: Troy, Atlantis, Shambala, Babylon, El Dorado ]

26.(a) Female firsts v CHEMISTRY CLASS: Over the years, many scientists have claimed to be able to turn this gas into a metal:_______________________.
[Choices: Mercury, Francium, Hydrogen, Rubidium, Bromine ]

27.(a) ARCHAEOLOGY v Opera: Phanagoria, once a large ancient Greek city, is now partly submerged in this body of water:________________________.
[Choices: Adriatic Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Red Sea, Black Sea, North Sea ]

28.(a) WHAT IS IT? v Awards: Who, what or where is "Kunama"?___________________________
[Choices: Vitamin supplement, Hybrid grain, Negev desert, Moroccan hip-hop singer, Language ]




Lightning Round (7 Questions: 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000 Points, but time to read & answer decreases from 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5 to 4 seconds):

29. Which country is bordered by Gabon and Cameroon?__________________________
[Choices: Suriname, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, Angola ]

30. Which word has the same meaning as "embezzle"?_________________________
[Choices: Exenterate, Bloviate, Insulflate, Amortize, Defalcate ]

31. "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live" is a line from the ____________________ films.
[Choices: Bridget Jones, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Rambo, Alien ]

32. Helen Keller was a co-founder of this organization:__________________________.
[Choices: ACLU, NAACP, CORE, NOW, FBI ]

33. Antares is this constellation's brightest star:__________________________ .
[Choices: Scorpius, Betelgeuse, Ursa minor, Cygnus, Aquarius ]

34. What rock band fired guitarist Don Felder in 2001?__________________________
[Choices: U2, Fleetwood Mac, Kansas, AC/DC, Eagles ]

35. Google introduced this line of digital media players in 2013:______________________.
[Choices: BlackBerry, Chromecast, Kindle, Cricket, Safari ]




Dreaded Pyramid Round (5 Questions: 12000, 7000, 4000, 2000, 1000 Points for 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Right out of 5; Time from post of Question & Choices = 16 seconds; No Clues):

36. "Shoot all the bluejays you want..." is a line said by which literary character?__________________________
[Choices: Tom Joad, Horatio Caine, Holden Caulfield, Atticus Finch, Penny Baxter ]

37. The leader of this country was removed by a coup in 2004:____________________.
[Choices: New Zealand, Haiti, Ecuador, Belarus, Zimbabwe ]

38. Katmai National Park is home to the largest population of protected ______________________ in North America.
[Choices: Alaskan brown bears, Polar bears, Timber wolves, Ermine, Emperor penguins ]

39. Which man shared a Nobel Prize for his work in developing penicillin?__________________________
[Choices: Alan Turing, Edward Jenner, Albert Sabin, Willard Boyle, Howard Florey ]

40. While on a Danube River cruise, visit this city between Linz and Bratislava:_____________________.
[Choices: Belgrade, Hamburg, Vienna, Skopje, Bern ]




Final Jeopardy Question on 21st Century History (50% Bonus if Right Immediately; Points decrease rapidly from 4 to 30 seconds, and with 3 Clues; 50% Deduction if Final Choice is Wrong):

41. Which of these entities debuted on January 15, 2001?_________________________
[Choices: Instagram, Wikipedia, Nashville Predators, European Union, South Sudan ]






Answers:

1. E.M. Forster [I (REACH) at Whispers Pub, Ottawa ON called this first; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._M._Forster ]

2. Nazca [Andrew C (GRYFON) pre-called this first; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines . After GRYFON's pre-call, someone asked "NASCAR"? To which GRYFON replied "They [the Lines] all point to the left"! ]

3. Bludgeon [Jean (LESTER) called this first; see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bludgeon ]

4. Siam [GRYFON pre-called this first; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand ]

5. Porterhouse [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-bone_steak ]

6. Michael Chabon [Myfanwy (SPRAJO) called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Chabon . Myfanwy noted that Eric McCormack (note spelling) was an actor (on "Wil & Grace"). Alfonso Ribeiro was an actor on "Silver Spoons" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"; Dick Cheney was a former Vice-President, and Adam Vinatieri is an NFL place kicker, so this Question could have been answered by eliminating the 4 wrong Choices.]

7. Desert [see the section "Physical geography" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert ]

8. Bartender [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swizzle_stick ]

9. Spider [GRYFON pre-called this one, confirmed by Chris (CEEZED); see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_funnel-web_spider .]

10. Aviation [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufthansa ; I pointed out that "Luft"="Air" in German. According to the Wikipedia article, the "hansa" comes from the Hanseatic League of traders.]




11. Italy [I pre-called "Sicily"; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse,_New_York and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse,_Sicily ]

12. Scars [Chris (CEEZED) pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid ]

13. 1950 [we all picked "1930", although I thought John Dillinger was killed later (in 1934), on a list of "Public Enemies" (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_enemy ). So 1950 was the right answer for "10 Most Wanted"; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI_Ten_M ... _Fugitives .]

14. Edgar Allan Poe [Jean called this, but I wrongly switched away. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bells_(symphony) , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bells_(poem) , and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdUThLpuBJ4 .]

15. Nickel silver [I wrongly pre-called "brass" (which is an alloy of zinc and copper), but since it was not listed as a Choice, I called for "pewter" (an alloy of tin, antimony, copper, bismuth, silver) but after the first Clue ("no church pew"), guessed "nickel silver" (the only remaining reasonable Choice). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_silver .]

16. Flavored e-cigarettes [Pre-calls for "vaping" led us to "e-cigarettes"; see https://www.michigandaily.com/section/g ... cigarettes ]

17. Ray Bradbury [Myfanwy called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Halloween_Tree ]

18. Mozambique [we all guessed wrong; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozambique ]

19. Judaic [I pre-called "Russia?", then Andrew C (GRYFON) and Jean called "Judaic" (I had been thinking of Russian Jews); see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dybbuk ]

20. Basketball [Myfanwy called this, having remembered that Marc Gasol of the World Champion (actually, NBA Champion) Toronto Raptors had played for Spain & won at a tournament; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_FIBA ... _World_Cup ]

21. Slavic [I pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_language ]

22. The Tempest [My pre-call; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tempest ]




23.(a) Nitric acid [My pre-call; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostwald_process ]

24.(a) Japan [Myfanwy's pre-call; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junko_Tabei ]

25.(a) Troy [Pre-call by Chris (CEEZED); see the section "Historical Troy uncovered" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy ]

26.(a) Hydrogen [My pre-call; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallic_hydrogen . I had remembered that a couple decades ago there was a claim that a tube of hydrogen gas undergoing a sudden implosion showed a sudden increase in electrical conductivity between 2 electrodes at either end of the tube, which could be interpreted as a momentary metallic phase at ultra high pressures.
Andrew C, surprised by my confirmation of a theoretical metallic phase for hydrogen, asked me if this is why hydrogen is in Group IA, along with the alkali metals (lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium cesium). Yes.

The bonding of 2 hydrogen atoms to form one hydrogen molecule (H2) can be explained by LCAO-MO Theory (Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals to form Molecular Orbitals); see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_orbital_theory . For example, the ground state 1s orbitals of the two H atoms can be combined mathematically to form one bonding molecular orbital (MO) and one higher energy anti-bonding MO. Each orbital can hold up to 2 electrons (with spins paired), so in the ground electronic state, the two electrons of the H2 molecule occupy the bonding MO. The higher energy MO is empty, but is available to hold an electron boosted by addition of the right amount of energy, to form an electronically excited state. Combinations of normally empty higher energy atomic orbitals (e.g. 2s or 2p orbitals) form other higher electronic energy MO's which can explain other molecular excited states necessary to explain the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of the H2 molecule.

Theoretically, if 3 hydrogen atoms are forced at ultra high pressure to be very close to each other, 3 atomic orbitals can be combined to form 3 MO's, one bonding, one neutral in energy, and one anti-bonding. The 3 nuclei (3 protons) could then be held together by 3 electrons, two in the bonding MO, and one in the non-bonding MO with neutral energy. At normal pressures, the 3 protons, being positively charged, would repel each other strongly, overpowering the attractive forces to the 3 electrons, and the H3 molecule would fly apart (dissociate).

But if really high pressures forced N hydrogen atoms really close together (where N is approximately equal to Avogadro's Number = 6 x 10^23 = 600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 or so), then N atomic orbitals would form N MO's that form 2 bands, a valence band of very closely packed bonding MO's, and a higher energy conduction band of very closely packed anti-bonding MO's. If the conduction band is separated by an energy gap from the valence band, then the assembly of atoms would be an electrical insulator (all the electrons would be packed in the lower energy valence band, with jumps between close MO energy levels forbidden by the Pauli Exclusion Principle: only 2 electrons can occupy any one MO, and they must have spins paired). If, however, there is an overlap of the valence and conduction bands (the lowest energy MO of the conduction band lying below the highest energy MO of the valence band), then electrons from the filled lower energy MO's could very easily with slight extra energy jump to higher empty MO's. The easy movement of electrons then explains the electrical conductivity and other properties of metals. This is the case, for example, in the alkali metals, where the inner shell electrons essentially cancel the electric charge of the same number of protons in the nuclei, so singly charged positive ions are held together by shared conduction electrons, one from each metal atom. In semi-conductors used in electronics (for example, silicon), the gap between the valence and conduction bands is small enough that small voltages can manipulate electron flow between bands, particularly if there are impurity atoms containing one less or one more valence electron per atom compared to silicon or germanium (Group IVA elements). For diagrams showing these band possibilities, see https://courses.lumenlearning.com/bound ... nd-theory/

One question is whether the pressures in the interior of giant planets like Jupiter or Saturn are high enough to squeeze hydrogen atoms close enough to form the metallic phase.]

27.(a) Black Sea [we first guessed Tyrrhenian Sea, but after it was eliminated by the first Clue, I guessed the Black Sea. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phanagoria ]

28.(a) Language [we all guessed different Choices; Andrew C. guessed right. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunama_language ]




29. Equatorial Guinea [Phil (BSLXPN) pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_Guinea ]

30. Defalcate [I and at least 2 others [Phil and Sue (SWIFT)] guessed this, as we got all 7500 Points in this Round; see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/defalgate ]

31. Harry Potter [Andrew C. pre-called this one; see https://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/p ... orget-live ]

32. ACLU [Myfanwy called this (it was the only Choice that made sense); see the section "Overview" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_ ... ties_Union ]

33. Scorpius [I pre-called this (the constellation is Scorpius, not Scorpio, which is the name of an astrological sign); see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antares ]

34. Eagles [Patrick (MRRED) and/or Chris (CEEZED) pre-called this one; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Felder ]

35. Chromecast [Patrick (MRRED) and/or Myfanwy (SPRAJO) called this from "Google Chrome" although none of us had every heard of Chromecast; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromecast ]




36. Atticus Finch [Andrew C. pre-called this; see https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/sh ... but-463850 ]

37. Haiti [I and at least 8 others guessed this (9 of us got all 5 out of 5 Right in this Round); see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Haitian_coup_d'etat ]

38. Alaska brown bears [Andrew C. called this, since Katmai is in Alaska, and endangered Alaska brown bears were formerly called Kodiak bears; see the section "Activities" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katmai_Na ... d_Preserve ]

39. Howard Florey [Andrew C. pre-called this one, and I knew that he, Fleming, and Ernst Chain shared the Nobel Prize for penicillin; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Florey ]

40. Vienna [Dave (YELDOR) called this, as Vienna was the only Choice between Linz, Austria and Belgrade; see the section "Cities and towns" at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube ]




41. Wikipedia [a wrong call for "South Sudan" threw me off, but Whispers Bar, Ottawa ON, had at least 6 good Player scores, good enough for a #2 Site ranking. Congrats to #1 Site Sweet Pea's in St. Paul MN. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia .]

The link in the Answer for Q30 should have read https://www.dictionary.com/browse/defalcate .

In the answer to Q26.(a), the Band Theory of Solids is illustrated at http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hb ... /band.html . Sorry that the first link was to an ad.

I'm not the least surprised that my friends at Sweet Pea's put up a 57K, but very surprised that there were only four sites with a 50K+ average. One suspects that technical issues were involved.

24(b): OPERA: The opera Tancredi takes place in what part of the world? SICILY.
26(b): FEMALE FIRSTS: Tori Murden was the first woman to do this solo: ROW ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. (Her Wikipedia article identifies her as Victoria Murden McClure.)
27(b): OPERA: Which of the following names is that of a woman in the opera Parsifal? KUNDRY.

We had no technical issues. We struggled a bit in the Pyramid Round, and we had a bad call on the Final Showdown for the Predators that several, including me, thought was correct.