Rosebery #5 Flashcards
From which language did English borrow the loanword “sauna?”
Finnish
What Italian electrical engineer sent the first ever wireless communication over open sea?
(Guglielmo) Marconi
What British hereditary title is not part of the peerage and was often awarded by James I as a means of raising funds?
baronet
What film studio began in 1979 as the Lucasfilm Graphics Group before Steve Jobs funded its spin-out as a corporation and became the majority shareholder?
Pixar (Animation) Studios
What is the sum of the infinite geometric series that has as its first three terms 2, 1, and 1/2?
4
What is the tenth term of the arithmetic sequence that has as its first three terms 1, 4, and 7?
28
What is the term given to the numbers of the sequence that has its first six terms 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, and 5?
Fibonacci (numbers)
Vesicles, lysosomes, and the Golgi apparatus are all examples of what?
organelle(s)
What animal cell organelles have their own DNA and are theorized have descended from a independent organism engulfed by an ancestral eukaryotic cell?
mitochrondria
What microtubule protein structures are important to mitosis in animals but are absent from the cells of conifers, flowering plants, and fungi?
centrioles
What molecular machines link amino acids together in the order specified by the messenger RNA to synthesize proteins?
ribosomes
In 1995, the NBA expanded to Canada with the addition of two teams, one of which later relocated to Memphis. Name both teams.
(Toronto) Raptors and (Vancouver) Grizzlies
What was the given name of the early 18th century English pirate better known as Blackbeard?
(Edward) Teach
Ching Shih commanded over 300 junks, which did battle against the British Empire, the Portuguese Empire, and which Chinese dynasty?
Qing (Dynasty)
What French pirate is sometimes considered a U.S. hero because, in exchange for a legal pardon for his fleet, he helped defend New Orleans against the British in 1815?
(Jean) Lafitte
What was the name of the galleon commanded by Sir Francis Drake on his privateering circumnavigation of the globe?
Golden Hind (accept Pelican)
Through what capital city does the River Seine flow?
Paris
Through what capital city does the Tigris River flow?
Baghdad
Through what capital city does the Han River flow?
Seoul
Through what capital city does the River Liffey flow?
Dublin
Through what capital city does the Potomac River flow?
Washington(, D.C.)
Through what capital city does the River Tiber flow?
Rome
Through what capital city does the Dnieper River flow?
Kiev
Through what capital city does the Sumida River flow?
Tokyo
What American psychologist developed behaviour analysis and invented the operant conditioning chamber, which he used in his studies of rats and pigeons?
(B.F.) Skinner
Played with black and white cards, what game is known for being unabashedly politically incorrect?
Cards Against Humanity
In physics, what physical quantity is equal to the cross product of the radius and force vectors?
torque
Who was the principal developer of the Linux kernel underpinning operating systems such as Linux, Android, and Chrome OS?
(Linus) Torvalds
Which French post-Impressionist spent his last years in French Polynesia, most of his paintings from that time depicting people or landscapes from that region?
(Paul) Gauguin
What is the English name of the iconic manga and anime character created by Osamu Tezuka and known in Japan as Mighty Atom?
Astro Boy
What is the fruit of the tropical plant with the genus and species name Ananas comosus?
pineapple
By volume, what is the largest freshwater lake in the world, containing more water than all the North American Great Lakes combined?
(Lake) Baikal
Pademelons and quokkas are closely related to which larger and much more well-known macropods?
kangaroos (accept wallabies)
The survival of which carnivourous marsupial species has been threatened by a contagious facial tumour disease?
Tasmanian devil(s)
What unassuming brown snake is considered to be the most venomous land snake in the world?
(Inland) taipan
The four species of echidna, along with which other monotreme, are the only egg-laying mammals in the world?
platypus
I am a chemical substance and have been known since ancient times. Although I can sometimes be found in my pure, elemental form, I am usually found in compounds. I am the fifth most common element on Earth and a brittle solid at room temperature. To the ancients and the alchemists, I was “brimstone.” What am I?
sulfur
Which American poet lived much of her life in reclusive isolation, later in life rarely even leaving her bedroom?
(Emily) Dickinson
Which Romantic poet is also known for his short stories and is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre?
(Edgar Allen) Poe
Which Victorian poet married another writer and was disinherited by her father for doing so?
(Elizabeth) Barrett (Browning)
prompt on “Browning”
Which English poet was characterized by one of his lovers, Lady Caroline Lamb, as “mad, bad, and dangerous to know?”
(George Gordon, Lord) Byron
What is the current through a resistor of 12 ohms with a potential difference of 6 volts across it?
0.5 amp(ere)s
What is the equivalent resistance of two 12 ohm resistors in parallel?
6 ohms
What metal is the best electrical conductor but is seldom used in circuits because of its cost and its susceptibility to corrosion?
silver
What type of electrical safety device consists of a metal wire or strip that melts when too much current flows through it?
fuse (do not accept circuit breaker)
In 1479, the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile were united to form the nucleus of which modern-day country?
Spain
Alfred the Great, who styled himself “King of the Anglo-Saxons,” was the king of which kingdom?
Wessex
Which island kingdom, founded by the Normans, once included much of southern Italy and Tunisia?
Sicily
Which kingdom was an Imperial State in the Holy Roman Empire and the predecessor of the modern Czech Republic?
Bohemia
What was the family name of the sisters who wrote under the pen names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell?
Brontë
Which Brontë sister wrote “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall??
Anne
Which of the Brontë sisters’ novels, notable for its intimate first-person narrative, was the most successful upon its publication?
Jane Eyre
What was the name of the sisters’ writer and painter brother who also died young?
(Patrick) Branwell
Which well-known philosopher tutored Alexander the Great after leaving Plato’s Academy in Athens?
Aristotle
What is the motto of House Stark in the HBO series Game of Thrones?
Winter Is Coming
The first written record of which sport dates to 1457, when James II of Scotland banned the game as an unwelcome distraction to learning archery?
golf
Which American-born painter painted Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1, a portrait of his mother?
(James McNeill) Whistler
The Fujita scale is used to measure the damage caused by which natural phenomenon?
tornado(s)
Which Hindu deity, the patron of the arts and sciences, is also the god of beginnings and honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies? He is often identified by his elephant head.
Ganesh(a)
What is the North American English name of the vegetable the British call an aubergine?
eggplant
In 1852, which U.S. Navy Commodore was assigned the mission of opening Japanese ports to U.S. trade, through the use of “gunboat diplomacy” if necessary?
(Matthew C.) Perry
By standard count, how many bones are there in the body of an adult human?
206
What comic franchise created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo features small, blue, human-like creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest?
Smurfs (accept Les Schtroumpfs)
In which fictional land would you find Quadling Country, Winkie Country, Gillkin Country, and Munchkin Country?
(The Land of) Oz
Through which piece of furniture do Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy first enter the land of Narnia?
wardrobe
Which fantasy novel features, in addition to the title character, dwarfs, goblins, trolls, a wizard, and a dragon named Smaug?
The Hobbit
Which street is most famous for its ten or so blocks between 42nd and 53rd streets, often referred to as the Theater District?
Broadway
Who wrote the music, lyrics, and book and also performed the lead role in the debut of Hamilton: An American Musical?
(Lin-Manuel) Miranda
What musical, by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone, makes light of the beliefs and practices of the religion whose holy book is also the title of the musical?
Book of Mormon
Which English composer wrote the music for the The Lion King film and later wrote additional new music for the The Lion King musical?
(Elton) John
What colourless gas, the simpliest pnictogen hydride, is manufactured by the Haber process?
ammonia
What compound, important to many industries such as the pulp and paper industry, is also known as lye or caustic soda?
sodium hydroxide
What chemical compound is formed by the combustion of hydrogen gas?
water (accept dihydrogen monoxide)
I was born in New York City in 1986 under a different name than the stage name by which I am currently known. I began performing as a teenager and dropped out of NYU to pursue a music career. I started acting in cameo roles and won an award for acting in American Horror Story. I am also known for my social activism, particularly for LGBTQ rights, and my philanthropy, including my anti-bullying Born This Way Foundation. Who am I?
Lady Gaga or (Stefani Joanne Angelina) Germanotta
What two items should you bring to class if your French teacher asks you to bring “un stylo et un crayon?”
pen and pencil
Which artist employed a naive folk art style to paint many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of her native Mexico?
(Frida) Kahlo (de Rivera)
In baseball statistics, what does “ERA” stand for? It is used to measure pitching effectiveness.
Earned Run Average
Which is the innermost of Jupiter’s Galilean moons, experiencing large tidal forces that result in active volcanism?
Io
What long-running CBC television documentary series has been hosted by David Suzuki since 1979?
The Nature of Things
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, what symbol, an oval with a horizontal line at one end, was used to indicate that the text enclosed was a royal name?
cartouche
Gustav Vasa led the rebel movement in the War of Liberation for which country, of which he was later elected king?
Sweden
To which other instrument is the cor anglais, or English horn, most closely related?
oboe
Syrah, Gewürztraminer, Malbec, and Gamay are all varieties of what?
wine (grapes)
What English author is best-known for his Discworld fantasy novels and his collaboration with Neil Gaiman, Good Omens?
(Sir Terry) Pratchett
Which rock is a naturally occurring “volcanic glass,” formed as an extrusive igneous rock?
obsidian
What 1960 Federico Fellini film followed a week in the life of a philandering paparazzo journalist living in Rome?
La Dolce Vita
What Latin phrase is used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without compensation?
pro bono (publico)
What fictional Sub-Saharan country is the home of Marvel Comics superhero Black Panther?
Wakanda
