Speed Round 1
Amendments
Some of the original framers of the Constitution and many of the delegates in state-ratifying conventions were concerned that the document did not specify individual rights. These concerns were alleviated with the first ten amendments collectively known as what?
Bill of Rights
The 19th Century
During what decade did these things occur?
--The New Madrid earthquake
--the Battle of Tippecanoe
--Statehood for Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, and Alabama
--the burning of Washington, D.C.
1810s
Independence
These countries gained their independence from what empire?
Barbados, SRI Lanka, Tanzania, Jordan, Malta, Jamaica, Egypt, Kuwait, India, United States
British Empire
Chemical Reactions
In the world of flora, what is the most common chemical reaction?
photosynthesis
Ethnic Groups
These are ethnic groups of what country?
Yakuts Tatars Chechens Kazakhs Uzbeks Tajiks
Russia
Newtonian Physics
When your car accelerates, you are pressed backwards and, if the car slows down suddenly, you are thrown forward. This is explained by what concept associated with Newton's first law?
inertia
Drama
In a dramatic presentation, what is the collective term for objects used by the actors onstage such as wallet, a handkerchief, a map, a cigar, a sword, a book or a telephone?
props
Seafarer's Signals
America's first lighthouses were fueled with the oil of what mammals?
whales
Silverstein
This is the introduction to what book by Shel Silverstein?
If you are a dreamer, come in
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer... If you're a pretender, come sit by the fire For we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Antecedents
What is the antecedent of the pronoun "it" in this excerpt?
Frodo must carry it to burn in Mordor, but the longer he carries it, the ore it causes him to feel greed and selfishness for it.
the ring
Signs
As popularized by Winston Churchill, what is the meaning of the gesture used since the Second World War in which the index and middle fingers are raised and parted while other fingers are clenched?
victory
Grammar
Grammatically speaking, these are all examples of what?
You've I'll aren't where's she'd
contractions
Seaside Countries
Much larger than Greece, what is the largest country that is adjacent to the Aegean Sea?
Turkey
Job Security
In the U.S., the highest-ranking appointed officials who hold their offices during good behavior belong to what deliberative body?
Supreme Court
Ancient History
What ancient region between two drainage systems was home to such early people as the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians?
Mesopotamia
Explorer Inscriptions
The name of what explorer is missing in this inscription made on a rock across from Vancouver Island?
___, from Canada, by land, the twenty-second of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three.
Eligibility
Most Americans who are 17 today would be eligible to become the U.S. president in how many years?
18
The Mideast
What Mideast country was named for the emir, Ibn Saud?Saudi Arabia
Exports
In the late 13 century, what textile was the major export from China?
silk
Longitude
From the International Date Line, if you travel west one-fourth of the way around the world, what would your longitude be?
90 degrees (east)
Science Fiction
In "Jurassic Park", what is the informal name for the company called International Genetic Technologies?
InGen
Geology
What is the common, collective name for all of these phenomena?
rock falls, debris falls, rock topples, rock slides, debris slides, rock flows, debris flows, earth flows, debris avalanches, mudflows
Biology
What is the collective name for the physical structures, characteristics, and behaviors that evolve over time to enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment?
adaptations
Music Notation
Name the sign on the sheet music indicating that a note or rest is to be held?
pause (caesura)
American Organizations
Sam Adams, John Adams, Benedict Arnold, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, and Paul Revere were members of what secret political organization in the years just prior to the American Revolution?
Sons of Liberty