THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
207-780-4249 www.usm.maine.edu/planet
70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103
43.6667° N 70.2667° W
Founded January 1970
Julian date: 2457718.16
"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious
privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love."
-Marcus Aurelius
*THE DAILY ASTRONOMER*
*Friday, November 25, 2016*
*Quiz XII: Brain of Portland II*
Astronomy, biology, chemistry, history, literature, mathematics, music,
mythology, physics, psychology, philosophy, logic, theatre, geology and
zoology! Just to name a few of the topic one could encounter when
taking a "Brain of Portland" quiz. Throughout the school year, we'll post
a few BoP quizzes. Each such quiz contains more questions than the one
preceding it. All these quizzes lead up to the Behemoth "Brain of
Brains": quiz posted at the end of the school year (early August.)
We model this quiz on BBC Radio 4's Brain of Britain quiz, the new season
of which begins in January! Until that general knowledge quiz returns,
we hope this small tribute quiz serves as a suitable substitute. In
Brain of Portland II, we offer 20 questions, divided into two rounds of 10.
ROUND 1
1. Leda, wife of King Tyndarus, fathered four children, two by her
husband, and two by Zeus. They were born at the same time. Helen (of Troy)
and Pollux were sired by Zeus. Who was sired by Tyndarus?
a. Castor and Clymnestra
b. Castor and Cassandra
c . Castor and Lilith
d. Castor and Electra
2. An ellipse with an eccentricity of zero is a _________________
a. parabola
b. circle
c. hyperbola
d. an impossibility. Ellipses cannot have zero eccentricities.
3. Proteus, Larissa and Galatea are moons revolving around which planet?
a. Jupiter
b. Saturn
c. Uranus
d. Neptune
4. The Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved when the USSR withdrew missiles
from Cuba, while the USA withdrew its warheads from which country?
a. Belarus
b. Turkey
c. Greece
d. Mongolia
5. Which Shakespearean character's dying words included "A plague on both
your houses?"
a. Richard III
b. Mercutio
c. Falstaff
d. Othello
6. What is the largest internal organ in the human body?
a. Liver
b. Stomach
c. Pancreas
d. Kidney
7. Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania all border_____________
a. Macedonia
b. Greece
c. Slovenia
d. Montenegro
8. Which of the following absorbs the most sunlight?
a. dense forests
b. dry sand
c. a glacier
d. ocean water
9. Where would one find the "Vatnajokull Icecap?"
a. Sweden
b. Iceland
c. Norway
d. Tanzania
10. Which ONE of the following statements about Sputnik I is NOT true?
a. It weighed about 180 pounds
b It passed over the United States about seven times a day
c. It fell to Earth two weeks after its launch
d. Its altitude was about 500 miles above Earth's surface.
ROUND ONE ANSWERS
1. a. Castor and Clymnestra
2. b. circle
(An ellipse with an eccenticity of 1 is a parabola; an ellipse with an
eccentricty greater than one is a hyperbola.)
3. d. Neptune
4. b. Turkey
5. b. Mercutio ("Romeo and Juliet")
6. a. Liver
7. d. Montenegro
8. a. dense forests
9. b. Iceland
10. c. It fell to Earth two weeks after its launch
(It was launched in October 1957 and burned up in Earth's atmosphere in
January 1958)
ROUND TWO
11. What is the longest river in Europe?
a. Volga
b. Danube
c. Ural
d. Rhine
12. Ferris Wheel A's diameter is twice that of Ferris Wheel B. If they
spin at the same rate, how long would it take a rider on Ferris Wheel B to
complete one circuit if the rider on Ferris A completes a circuit in 8
minutes?
a. 2 minutes
b. 4 minutes
c. 12 minutes
d. 16 minutes
13. A collective noun question: (yes, your favorite.) Buffaloes
travel in herds; geese fly in skeins, and apes move in troops.
"Kaleidoscope" is the collective noun for a group of _____________
a. flamingos
b. caterpillars
c. butterflies
d. jellyfish
14. Who slew the the mighty Trojan Hector?
a. Achilles
b. Odysseus
c. Ajax
d. Menelaus
15. We just elected our 45th president. How many U.S. Presidential
elections have there been, including the one that was held earlier this
month?
a. 52
b. 55
c. 58
d. 61
16. _________________ is a branch of philosophy based on the concept that
knowledge is derived purely from sensory experience.
a. rationalism
b. empiricism
c. stoicism
d. ontology
17. Name one of the two US Presidents who share the record for having the
longest last name? (Hint: not "Taft").
No choices...of course..
18. Who composed the Opera "Hippolyte et Aricie?"
a. Jean-Philippe Rameau
b. Mozart
c. Carl Maria von Weber
d. Gaetano Donizett
19. The BBC series "I, Claudius" was based upon two novels written by
Robert Graves. The first novel was entitled "I, Claudius." What was the
title of the second novel?
a. "You, Claudius"
b. "Claudius, the God"
c. "The Emperor Claudius"
d. "Bono Malum Superate"
20. How many degrees does an hour hand move in 10 minutes?
a. 1
b. 3
c. 5
d. 10
ROUND TWO ANSWERS
11. a. Volga
12. b. 4 minutes
13. c. butterflies
14. a. Achilles
15. c. 58
16. b.empiricism
17. Washington and Eisenhower
18. a. Jean-Philippe Rameau
19. b. "Claudius, the God"
20. c. 5