51. Sometimes politicians, and others, engage in ad hominem attacks. What does "ad hominem" mean?
a. "to the heart."
b. "to the soul"
c. "to the man."
52. The Globalization and World Cities Research Network developed a rating system for the world's cities based on their integration into the global economy. The GWCR conferred its highest ranking of Alpha++ to two cities which it considers to be vastly more integrated into the world economy than any other cities. What are the world's only two Alpha++ cities?
a. Shanghai and Tokyo
b. London and New York City
c. Mexico City and Melbourne, Australia
53. In philosophy, the doctrine of meliorism asserts what?
a. that the mind is the only real construct in nature
b. that life and the Universe are destined to become progressively better
c. that freedom is illusory
54. Which spacecraft transmitted the first picture of Mars?
a. Viking 2
b. Mariner 6
c. Ares IV
55. Foucault's Pendulum, first introduced by physicist Jean Foucault as a demonstration of Earth's rotation, has an oscillation period which depends on its latitude. At which location would Foucault's Pendulum have an oscillation period of 24 hours?
a. North Pole
b. Equator
c. 66.5 degrees N latitude or 66.5 degrees S latitude
56. Which mythological sculptor created Galatea, only to fall desperately in love with her?
a. Pygmalion
b. Archamenades
c. Tantalus
57. Goldbach's conjecture, named for 18th century German mathematician Christian Goldbach, states that every even number greater than 2 is what?
a. expressible as the sum of two primes
b. expressible as a product of radicals
c. impossible to express as a quotient of odd numbers
58. What is the name of the region within the galaxy in which our solar system is located?
a. the Orion Arm
b. the Sagittarius Arm
c . the Cygnus Arm
59. Many countries, including Chad and Togo, have only four letters in their names. How many countries have fewer than four letters in their names? (The UK and abbreviations do not count.)
a. 3
b. 1
c. 0
60. Which was the last horse to win the Triple Crown?
a. Secretariat
b. Affirmed
c. American Pharoah
ROUND 6 answers
51. c. "to the man."
52. b. London and New York City
53. b. that life and the Universe are destined to become progressively better
54. b. Mariner 6
55. a. North Pole
56. a. Pygmalion
57. a. expressible as the sum of two primes
58. a. the Orion Arm
59. c. 0
60. c. American Pharoah
(American Pharoah won in 2015. The first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed won in 1978.)
ROUND 7
61. Who composed "Idomeneo, Re Di Crete?"
a. Rossini
b. Mozart
c. Salieri
62. The Pima community of Indigenous peoples, located in Arizona, attribute the world's creation to Cherwit Make, which was what type of animal?
a. bear
b. eagle
c. butterfly
63. Which type of radiation consists of helium nuclei?
a. alpha
b. beta
c. gamma
64. If you roll two dice, which number are you most likely to roll?
a. 10
b. 7
c. 4
65. Which latitude (approximately) marks the southernmost region in the Northern Hemisphere where the Midnight Sun effect can occur?
a. 23.5 degrees N
b. 45 degrees N
c. 66.5 degrees N
66. The moon can occult four first magnitude stars. Which ONE of the following is one of these stars?
a. Aldebaran
b. Betelgeuse
c. Vega
67. Who painted "American Gothic?"
a. Norman Rockwell
b. Grant Wood
c. Andrew Wyeth
68. A store discounts a $90.00 item by 30% on Monday. On Thursday, it discounts the item by another 20%. What is the final price of the item?
a. $45.00
b. $50.40
c. $52.50
69. Which Romance language has the greatest number of native speakers?
a. French
b. Spanish
c. Romanian
70. How many nanometers are there in a centimeter?
a. 1,000,000,000
b. 10,000,000
c. 1,000,000
ROUND 7 ANSWERS
61. b. Mozart
62. c. butterfly
63. a. alpha
64. b. 7
(the probability of rolling a 7 is 1/6)
65. c. 66.5 degrees N
66. a. Aldebaran
(The four stars are Aldebaran, Antares, Regulus and Spica.)
67. b. Grant Wood
68 b. $50.40
69. b. Spanish (410 million native speakers worldwide)
70. b. 10,000,000
ROUND 8
71. Mercury and which other planet are the only two planets that have no moons?
a. Venus
b. Mars
c. Neptune
72. According to Angelican archbishop James Ussher, the world began in what year?
a. 4004 BC
b. 11,003 BC
c. 100,000,000 BC
73. Babies are born with 300 bones. Adults have how many?
a. 300
b. 314
c. 206
74. In which book does Mr Darcy appear?
a. Pride and Prejudice
b. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
c. Sense and Sensibility
75. What are 'Portmanteau Words?"
a. foreign words that have become incorporated into English
b. words deemed excessively long
c. words that are blended together from more than one word
76. Approximately how much waste is generated to create one 18-K Gold ring?
a. 4 pounds
b. 100 pounds
c. 20 tons
77. About how many times a day does the International Space Station revolve around Earth?
a. 11
b. 16
c. 24
78. If you're in Japan and engaged in inemuri, what are you doing?
a. falling asleep in public
b. diving off a cliff
c. working on an origami project
79. The Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics -yes, there is such a thing- states what?
a. that if object A is in thermal equilibrium with object B and object B is in thermal equilibrium with object C, then object A is also in thermal equilibrium with object C.
b. that energy can be neither created nor destroyed
c. that thermal energy can be converted into electrical energy
80. As a punishment for bringing fire to mortals, who was condemned to be chained to a rock while an eagle devoured his liver each day, only to have it regrow in the night so that the eagle could eat it again the following day?
a. Prometheus
b. Tantalus
c. Sisyphus
ROUND 8 answers
71. a. Venus
72. a. 4004 BC
73. c. 206
74. a. Pride and Prejudice
75. c. words that are blended together from more than one word
("Bollywood" and "edutainment" are two well known examples of Portmanteau words.)
76. c. 20 tons
77. b. 16
78. a. falling asleep in public
79. a. that if object A is in thermal equilibrium with object B and object B is in thermal equilibrium with object C, then object A is also in thermal equilibrium with object C.
80. a. Prometheus
ROUND 9
81. Which famous literary character said, "I am by birth a Genevese, and my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic?"
a. Professor Moriarty
b. Victor Frankenstein
c. Count Dracula
82. Which surrealist artist painted "Dream, Caused by the Flight of a Bee (Around a Pomegranate, a Second Before Waking Up)?"
a. Salvador Dali
b. Max Ernst
c. Meret Oppenheim
83. In 31 B.C.E., Octavian -later Emperor Augustus- defeated whom in the Battle of Actium?
a. Brutus and Claudius
b. Anthony and Cleopatra
c. Xerxes
84. Which Biblical figure lead the exodus out of Egypt?
a. Moses
b. Job
c. Abraham
85. One hose can fill a bath tub by itself in 60 minutes. Another hose can fill a tub by itself in 30 minutes. How long would it take both hoses to fill the tub working together?
a. 40 minutes
b. 34 minutes
c. 20 minutes
86. Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu is better known as whom?
a Lady Gaga
b. Mother Theresa
c. Madame Curie
87. Physicist Henry Cavendish was the first person to provide a measurement of what?
a. the mass of Earth
b. the weight of the Sun
c. the distance to the moon
88. 88 is the number of all but which one of the following?
a. the number of keys on a piano
b. the number of constellations designated by the International Astronomical Union
c. the number of known moons in the solar system
89. Written by T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and published in 1935, _________________ is a highly acclaimed book detailing the Arab Revolt
a. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom
b. Lawrence of Arabia
c. The Blood of Abraham
90. Where would an observer on the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees North) find Polaris, the North Star?
a. 66.5 degrees above the northern horizon
b. 23.5 degrees above the northern horizon
c. Polaris isn't visible from that location
ROUND 9 answers
81. b. Victor Frankenstein
82. a. Salvador Dali
83. b. Anthony and Cleopatra
84. a. Moses
85. c. 20 minutes
86. b. Mother Theresa
87. a. the mass of Earth
88. c. the number of known moons in the solar system = 176
89. a. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom
90. b. 23.5 degrees above the northern horizon