-Students from Dominion... Woodson... Justice... meet today on "It's Academic."

♪♪ And now the host of "It's Academic," Hilary Howard.

-Hello, everybody.

I'm Hilary Howard.

Welcome to "It's Academic," produced by Altman Productions, in association with David M. Rubenstein Productions.

-Support for "It's Academic" has been provided by the following -- MITRE, a not-for-profit research-and-development company working in the public interest.

-The world is full of challenges.

And at MITRE, we're committed to solving them.

From aviation... and health... to cyber... and national security... our people know we are called to do more.

♪♪ MITRE -- solving problems for a safer world.

♪♪ -Alright, let's get this going with a fast start.

All questions are worth 10 points up or down.

First team to buzz in gets to answer, and for those of you at home, the students do not see what you do on your screens.

Let's do this, teams!

Here's your first question.

I'm "bullish" about your ability to do well in this opening round.

Please identify the following persons, places, and things that have to do with bulls.

Part man and part bull -- Yes, Woodson.

-Minotaur.

-Yes.

-"Bulls" on Wall Street are the opposite of this other -- Woodson.

-Bear.

-Bear is it.

In 1912, he was the Bull Moose Party's presidential candidate.

-Dominion.

-Theodore Roosevelt.

-Yeah.

The bullfighter Escamillo appears in this opera by Bizet.

Woodson.

-"Habanera."

-Pardon me?

-"Habanera."

-No, "Carmen."

This is the bull sign of the zodiac.

Woodson.

-Taurus.

-Yes.

This is another name for the Battle of Bull Run.

Dominion.

-The Battle of Manassas.

-Correct.

This bull was captured by Hercules as his seventh labor.

The answer is Cretan, the Cretan bull.

The NBA Bulls are the team from -- -Woodson.

-Chicago.

-Chicago is right.

And that is the end of our fast start.

Nice job, everybody.

"Mix & Match" is next, but let's meet Team 1 before we dive into these questions.

Hello, Dominion High School from Sterling, Virginia.

Miya, it's good to see you again.

Tell us a little about yourself.

-Hi.

My name is Miya.

I'm a 17-year-old senior from Dominion High School, and in my free time, I like to spend time with my cats.

-With your cats.

How many do you have?

-I have two.

-Two.

Ah, what are their names?

-Their names are Tetsu and Pixel.

-[ Chuckles ] Very nice.

Well, it's good to see you again, Miya.

Hello, Medha.

-Hi.

I'm Medha.

I'm from Dominion High School.

I'm a 16-year-old senior, and in my free time, I like playing music -- flute, piano, yeah.

-What kind of music do you enjoy best?

-Mostly classical.

-Lovely.

Favorite piece?

-Hard to say.

-[ Chuckles ] Hard to say.

Hello, Gabe.

Good to see you.

-Hi.

I'm Gabe.

I am a 16-year-old and a junior at Dominion High School.

I'm on the school swim team, and I like to read.

-What kind of books do you prefer?

-Mostly fantasy.

-Oh, nice.

What's your favorite series?

-Probably "The Way of Kings."

-I haven't read that.

My kid likes, so I read them, too.

Good to have you guys.

And now we get to do this round, where questions are worth 20 points.

No penalties for a wrong answer, so be bold.

Here's your first clue.

"I do very well."

And you'll do very well, too, if you can find hidden in this sentence what capital of Delaware?

-Dover.

-Yes, Dover is it.

"Useless, unending, urgent."

Which one of these words describes an undertaking that is futile?

-Useless.

-Yeah.

Here you have every other letter in the name of what ancient Greek mathematician known for his theorem about right triangles?

-Pythagoras.

-Correct.

"Marsupials, ruminants, primates."

You would expect animals of which of these groups to chew their cud?

-Ruminants.

-Ruminants.

-Ruminants is right.

"Adam ate the apple, and our teeth still ache."

Here you have a proverb from what European country whose capital is Budapest?

-Hungary.

-Hungary is right.

Well done, Dominion High School.

220 points!

Yay!

Whoo!

W.T.

Woodson, you're up.

Stephen, good to see you again.

What have you been up to?

-Aside from "It's Academic," mainly doing cross-country and track.

-Nice.

Do you prefer one?

-I prefer cross-country much more.

-Very good.

Good to see you again.

Hello, Samik.

-Hi.

I do cross-country and track with Stephen.

But I also like looking at satellite images in my free time.

-Really?

Like what.

-Mostly in our area, just how things have changed.

-Very cool.

A lot of development over the many decades -- and not so many decades.

Good to see you again, Samik.

And, Stephen, what are you doing these days?

-Well, it's been kind of difficult getting it approved, but I'm starting a club for building a small satellite at Woodson.

-Oh, that's great.

And what would you like this satellite to do?

-Well, I've been talking to some industry experts, and I think the main kind of idea would be testing different types of models on the drag of it in low orbit so we can see how long it takes for certain types of satellites to deorbit and hopefully kind of contribute to ending the space-junk crisis a little bit.

-Yeah, wouldn't that be something?

Awesome.

Well, it's great to have you guys, and I have some questions, so here we go.

"Sent rent on time."

That's good, but see if you can find in this phrase the name of what 1776 New Jersey battle that was a great victory for George Washington?

-Trenton.

-Yeah.

"Expedite, expunge, exhaust."

Of these three words that begin with E-X, which one means to "X" out or erase something?

-Expunge.

-Yeah.

-Expunge.

-Yeah.

We're filling in every other letter -- or we have filled in every other letter in the last name of what 18th-to-19th century British physicist who made the first table of atomic weights?

-Dalton.

-Dalton, yeah.

-Wait.

Dalton?

-Dalton.

-Dalton.

-Yes, Dalton.

"Biting, spitting, constricting."

Cobras are definitely creatures to avoid, as cobras can do serious harm except in which of these ways?

-Spitting?

-I think it's constricting.

-Constricting.

-Yeah, constricting.

-'Cause they can spit venom.

-"He who does not eat garlic does not smell of garlic."

This tasty proverb comes from what Middle Eastern country whose capital is Beirut?

-Lebanon.

-Lebanon.

-Lebanon.

-Lebanon.

-Yes, it is.

Nicely done, W.T.

Woodson.

Justice High School from Falls Church, Virginia.

Hello, Donny.

Good to see you.

-Hello.

-Tell us about yourself.

-Well, yesterday, I went to a Science Olympiad competition, and it was really fun.

-What did you do?

-We competed in different events, and I did the Fermi-questions one.

-Ah!

So did you have fun?

-It was really fun.

-Wonderful.

Great to have you back here.

Hello, Thomas.

-Hi.

I was also at the Science Olympiad competition with Donny.

We did Disease Detectives together, and it was fun.

-And being disease detectives, was there anything in particular you were looking for or working on?

-Just in general, epidemiology and applying that.

-Fabulous.

Good to have you back here.

Hiya, Derek.

How about you?

-Hello.

Yeah, so I'm a hurdler on the track team.

And recently, I've been working on three-stepping.

-On what?

-Three-stepping between the hurdles.

-Oh.

So is that hard?

-For me, it has been.

-Uh-huh.

I'm sure you'll get it.

[ Both chuckle ] Good to see you guys, and now I get to ask some questions.

Here we are.

"Anemia misery."

You can avoid misery by finding the hidden name of what largest city in South Florida.

-Miami.

-Yeah.

-"Obsequious, spontaneous, boisterous."

A person who is servile and fawning can best be described by which of these adjectives?

-[ Whispering indistinctly ] -Answer?

-First one.

-The first one was -- I have to go back and look.

The first one was -- yes, obsequious.

Correct.

The symbol for uranium appears twice in the spelling of what dangerous radioactive element with the symbol Pu that's used in making nuclear weapons?

-Plutonium.

-Yeah.

"Dyslexia, astigmatism, heterochromia."

Someone with one blue eye and one brown eye has which optical condition?

-Heterochromia?

-Yeah.

-Heterochromia.

-Correct.

"Don't search for bones in the lion's den."

This warning comes from what country on the Horn of Africa where Mogadishu is capital?

-Somalia.

-Correct.

Nicely done, Justice High School -- 200 points.

And that is the end of the "Mix & Match" round.

Coming up, "Picture Perfect."

Stay where you are.

-I'm David Rubenstein.

From the Kennedy Center and the National Archives to the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, I've been pleased to support many important organizations and historic sites linked to American history, art, culture, education, and more.

I believe giving back to our country isn't just an idea, it's an action -- a patriotic action that involves all of us.

And it begins with education and learning about our nation's past so that we, the people, can make a more perfect union for the future.

We can do it together.

Please read, learn, get involved, and make a difference.

♪♪ [ Applause ] -Time to decipher some images, because it is the "Picture Perfect" round, but first, let's recap the scores.

Dominion High School, 220 points.

W.T.

Woodson, 230 points.

Justice High School, 200 points.

Alright, in this round, the first team to buzz in gets to answer.

Once again, questions are worth 20 points up or down, so be careful.

And we begin.

The koala is a very fussy eater, munching only on the leaves of what -- Woodson.

-Eucalyptus.

-Correct.

The Angkor Wat temple complex was built in the 12th century -- Woodson.

-Cambodia.

-Yeah.

Here you see 17th-century scientist Torricelli who invented what device for measuring air pressure?

Woodson.

-Barometer.

-Yes.

Evaluate this expression, giving your answer as a -- -Woodson.

-32.

-Uh-huh.

You've got it again.

Here you see what man, the founder and first president of modern Turkey?

Woodson.

-Ataturk.

-Yes, it is.

"Momentum, inertia, kinetic energy."

The product of the mass and velocity of a particle -- Woodson.

-Momentum.

-Correct.

This bear mask was made my an indigenous tribesman in what Canadian province where Vancouver is a major -- -Woodson.

-British Columbia.

-Yeah.

Woodson you dominated that round.

Nicely done.

Now we're going to get to meet the coaches because it's halftime.

We will begin with Dominion High School.

Medha, tell us who's with you.

-I'm joined today by our coach, Ms. Gilomen, and our principal, Dr.

Brewer.

-Good to see you guys.

Thanks for being here.

And from Woodson, Samik, who's behind you?

-Behind me is Mr. Wright.

He's an AP government and AP world-history teacher.

-Good to see you.

And Justice.

Thomas, tell us who your coach is.

-Today we have Mr. Russom with us.

-Good to see you, Mr. Russom.

Well, thank you so much for being here and helping these amazing students perform as they always do, which is well.

So, let's talk about what we're going to do next.

This is the "Packet Round."

In the "Packet Round," Dominion, Team 1, will answer questions first.

Woodson will get to choose which packet they answer questions from -- 1, 2, or 3.

Woodson, what's it -- -1.

-1, said very decisively.

Alright.

Dominion.

Here we go.

"The Wonders of the Invisible World" was a 1693 study about women in Salem, Massachusetts, who were said to be what creatures with supernatural powers?

-Witches.

-Yes.

It was partly to encourage German immigrants that North Dakota in 1873 changed the name of its state capital to what name that it has today?

Answer?

-Pierre?

-Nah, it's Bismark.

That's the other Dakota.

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was what huge statue of Helios known as the Colossus of what Greek island.

-Rhodes.

Rhodes.

-Rhodes.

Yeah.

Here's your science question.

"Airglow, absorption spectrum, aphelion."

Which of these terms refers to the faint, steady emission of light in the upper atmosphere?

-Airglow.

-Airglow.

-Airglow it is.

Here's your next question.

Though he had a brain the size of an orange, in 2013 we welcomed a new addition to the human family tree -- Homo naledi, whose bones were found in what country where Pretoria is capital?

-South Africa.

-Yes, you've got it.

Here's your math question.

Which of these expressions, A, B, or C, has the greatest value?

-C. -C. -Yes, C is right.

"R Is for Rocket" is a science-fiction novel by what author whose reputation soared with books like "The Martian Chronicles."

Answer?

In three, two, one... Ray Bradbury.

A typhoid epidemic that killed thousands and contributed to Athens' defeat in the Peloponnesian War also killed what leader for whom Athens' Golden Age is named?

Answer is... -Helen.

-No, it was Pericles.

Nicely done, Dominion.

320 points.

And now we move on over to Woodson.

Woodson, you have one of these two packets that Justice will decide you will answer questions from.

-2.

-2.

Alright.

We do in consecutive order.

According to one legend, it was in 753 BC that Rome was founded by Romulus and what twin brother of his?

-Remus.

-Remus.

-Remus.

-Yes, Remus, of course.

Here's your next question, if I can separate them all.

There we go.

Paleontologists were delighted when dinosaur bones were discovered near what highest U.S. mountain?

-McKinley?

-Denali.

-Denali.

-Denali is right.

Here's your science question.

"Mica, clay, coal."

As shale rock is weathered or worn down by erosion, it reverts to which of these?

-Coal.

-Coal.

-Coal.

-No, clay.

"Till We Reach the Stars" was the title of a biography of what first Soviet cosmonaut to orbit the Earth back in 1961?

-Gagarin.

-Gagarin.

-Yeah.

The winner of the 1917 Kentucky Derby was a horse named for what Persian poet who wrote the "Rubaiyat"?

-Khayyam?

Khayyam?

-Defer to Stephen.

-Omar Khayyam.

-Correct.

Here's your math question.

If the area of a square is 1,600 square inches, what is the length of one side in inches?

-40.

-40.

-40 is right.

During World War II, the French collaborationist government was located not in Paris, but in what small town that gave the government its name?

-Vichy.

-Vichy.

-Vichy.

-Vichy is right.

The nuclear-powered USS Nautilus became the first submarine to travel under the North Pole after what leaving its base at what famed Hawaiian harbor?

-Pearl Harbor.

-Yeah.

-Pearl Harbor.

-Pearl Harbor is right, which means you now have a score of 510 points.

Nicely done, gentlemen.

And finally, Justice High School, you get packet number 3.

Here is your first question.

St. George, who was the patron saint of England in addition to three other countries, supposedly slew what fire-breathing monster?

-Dragon.

-Dragon.

-Dragon.

-Yeah, that's it.

Obvious, right?

"It's one of the greatest American novels ever written" said one critic about what Mark Twain novel whose title character is a friend of Tom Sawyer's?

Answer?

In three, two, one... "Huckleberry Finn."

California is a major growing area for the vegetable named not for California but for what Belgian capital city?

-Brussels.

-Yeah.

Here's your science question.

"Monatomic, diatomic, triatomic."

Under standard temperature and pressure, gaseous helium is which of these?

-[ Whispering indistinctly ] -Answer?

-Monatomic?

-It is monatomic.

Nicely done.

Spain's Felipe VI is the 10th Spanish monarch from what dynasty that originated in France and shares its name with a type of whiskey?

-Bourbon.

-Yeah.

"She called in her soul to come and see" was the last line of "Their Eyes Were Watching God," a 1937 novel by what American woman?

Answer?

In three, two, one... Zora Neale Hurston.

Here's your math question.

What is the value of this expression, giving your answer as an integer?

-[ Whispering indistinctly ] -Answer?

-820.

-That's it.

Bremen, Hamburg, and Lubeck were among the German cities that belonged to what medieval league set up to protect trade routes?

-[ Whispers indistinctly ] -And the answer is... the Hanseatic League.

Justice High School, 300 points.

And that's the end of the "Packet Round."

"Grab Bag" is up next.

-Hello.

I'm David Rubenstein.

Did you know that, when the biblical Eve handed Adam the forbidden apple and Adam took a bite, it supposedly got stuck in his throat and that's why a man's larynx is known today as his Adam's apple?

Doctors today have a different explanation, but as legends go, it's a good one.

I'm David Rubenstein, reminding you to read, learn, get involved, and make a difference.

♪♪ -We're getting ready for the "Grab Bag" round, but first, let's recap those scores.

Dominion High School, 320 points.

W.T.

Woodson, 510 points.

Justice High School, 300 points.

Let's hear it for our teams!

[ Applause ] Yay.

So, there is a whole lot more to do here, but before we do it, I want to talk to these students about being back in the studio.

-It's quite different.

It's much bluer here.

It feels more real, but the sense of tension is almost the same.

-So, let's move on over to Woodson.

Stephen, tell us about it.

-I mean, if anything, it feels a little more comfortable because it just feels like we're back at practice, just reading off questions and getting in a rhythm, just, like, bouncing off of each other so... -Yeah.

I'm sure Justice feels the same way.

Donny, how do you feel about it?

-Yeah, it's my first time here.

It's a very big change, but it's really fun.

-Alright.

Well, let's get "awesomer," shall we?

This is the "Grab Bag" round.

Questions are worth 20 points up or down, 30 points for the visual questions.

Here we go.

What popular board game has the same name as a type of business practice where one company -- Woodson.

-Monopoly.

-Yeah.

Hercules Hall is a concert hall in what German city where British prime minister met Hitler in 1938?

The answer is... Munich.

On your screens for 30 points.

The crowned crane can still be found in what African country whose major cities are Dar es Salaam and Dodoma -- Woodson.

-Tanzania.

-Yeah.

What modern author hit just the right note with her novel "On the Come Up" about a teenage rapper?

The answer is Angie Thomas.

Here's your next question.

If an equilateral triangle is inscribed in a circle what is the size of each of the intersected arcs?

Yes, Dominion.

-The radian.

-No, 120 degrees.

The tradition of having Olympic medalists stand on a triple podium began in 1932 when the winter games was held at Lake Placid in -- Woodson.

-New York.

-Correct.

On your screens for 30 points.

"It is always possible to create something original."

This was the comment of what 20th-century American composer who wrote "Rhapsody in Blue"?

Woodson.

-Gershwin.

-Yeah, the brilliant Gershwin.

What tiny Pacific island takes its name from its geographic position half the distance between North America and -- Woodson.

-Midway.

-Midway is right.

Awesome.

The judges are now checking the scores, and we will be back in a minute with the final results, but first, here's someone you should know about.

-I'm David Rubenstein, and I believe giving back is something we all can do.

Students are getting involved in their communities in many important ways.

I've asked them to share with us how they're making a difference.

-I am Kevin Cronk.

I go to Wakefield High School.

And with the Boy Scouts, I do something called Scouting for Food, where we work with a local food bank to collect food for the hungry, and what we do is we go out to various neighborhoods and put stickers on the door with plastic bags.

The stickers explain what we're doing, and then we come back a week later, and they've put food in the bags, and then we pick up the food and bring it over to the food bank.

And that typically brings in hundreds of pounds of food each year, so it makes a really big impact on people who need it.

-Like these students, you too can help improve the lives of so many people by volunteering in your town and your community.

Please read, learn, get involved, and make a difference.

[ Applause ] -The scores are now official.

We begin with Justice High School from Falls Church, Virginia.

Donny, Thomas, Derek, 300 points.

[ Applause ] From Sterling, Virginia's Dominion High School, Miya, Medha, and Gabe, 350 points.

[ Applause ] And coming back for the seminal, W.T.

Woodson High School from Fairfax, Virginia, Stephen, Samik, and Stephen -- I like to say Stephen squared -- [Laughs] 610 points!

Amazing, guys.

Way to go.

[ Cheers and applause ] Let's hear it for our incredible teams and to you, our incredible viewers.

So happy you could join us today and match wits with some of these impressive students.

I'm Hilary Howard.

-Support for "It's Academic" has been provided by the following -- MITRE, a not-for-profit research-and-development company working in the public interest.

-At MITRE, we're committed to solving some of our biggest challenges in national security, cyber, aviation, and health.

And our dedication to service starts at home, working to fight hunger, serving people in need, protecting public health, and supporting our civic institutions.

This is serving the public.

This is MITRE -- solving problems for a safer world.

And when we meet you next time, we're going to have students from Fauquier, Walter Johnson, and Independent high schools competing right here on another "It's Academic" playoff.

See you then, guys.

Bye.

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