This program brought to you, in part, by the Erika Lewis Endowment Fund.

-Coming up next, it's Palo Verde... [cheers and applause] ...taking on A-Tech!

[cheers and applause] This is Varsity Quiz!

[crashing sound] ♪♪ [cheers and applause] Hi.

Welcome to the 56th season of Varsity Quiz.

Now the Silver League Semifinals of Varsity Quiz.

It's an honor to be your host, Nathan Tannenbaum.

So the Silver League had 18 teams in 3 divisions.

We're on the road to the championship.

The winner of tonight's match between Palo Verde, who defeated Green Valley, and A-Tech, who defeated West Tech, moves on to the 2025 Varsity Quiz Championship Match here on Vegas PBS.

But let's meet tonight's players, starting with Palo Verde.

There's Kaia.

Hi, Kaia.

-Hi.

-There's Caden.

Hi, Caden.

There's Kevin.

-Hi.

-There's Kevin.

And there's Ro.

Hi, Ro.

-Hi.

-And the coach for Palo Verde, Kateri Christian.

Let's meet our starters for A-Tech.

There's Mark.

Hey, Mark.

-Hey.

-Carlo.

-Hi.

-Callum.

-Hi.

-And Bryan.

-Hello.

-And the coaches for A-Tech, Johnny Nguyen and Chris Argento.

So we've had a technical glitch here with the lights around the team names on Palo Verde.

You're used to seeing them light up.

We have a system where we can see who buzzed in, so we're ready to go.

Are you guys ready to go?

Let's play Varsity Quiz.

What leader of the Wagner Group led a "march for justice" against the Russian government?

And that is Palo, Kevin: Prigozhin -Is that close enough?

[confers with judges] Okay.

We were-- it's Yevgeny Prigozhin, so we'll take that as a correct answer with points on the board for Palo.

We move to the next question.

What state's panhandle, which contains the landform Ruby Ridge and the city-- And that is Palo, Caden: Oklahoma -Incorrect and an interruption.

--and the city Coeur d'Alene, is just east of Washington State?

A-Tech, Mark: Idaho -That is correct.

Points for A-Tech.

We move on.

Name this Roman poet who addressed many of his love poems to Lesbia.

That's A-Tech, Mark: Ovid -No.

[bell chimes, time expires] We were looking for Gaius Valerius Catullus.

-No points.

Next question.

This scientist discovered the photoelectric effect-- And that's A-Tech, Carlo: Einstein -Incorrect and an interruption.

--discovered the photoelectric effect and first observed radio waves.

The SI unit of frequency is named after him.

And that's Palo, Ro: Hertz -Correct.

Points continue for Palo, and we move to the next question.

What type of forces were used by the Allies in Operation Varsity in Germany, and they're featured in Stephen Ambrose's book, Band of Brothers?

That's A-Tech, Callum: airborne -I don't think we can take that.

[confers with judges] And is that Palo Verde, Kevin or Ro?

Hey, Caden, there you go.

-Paratroopers.

-That's the answer we're looking for.

Thank you.

Next question.

What author wrote about fireman Guy Montag-- That's A-Tech, Mark: Bradbury -Correct.

Next question.

What conflict was ended by an unequal treaty called the Treaty of Nanking and was fought over the-- A-Tech, Callum: Opium War -Correct.

Give the last name of Beneatha and her family in A Raisin in the Sun.

A-Tech, Mark: Clyde -Incorrect.

And that's Palo, Kaia: Smith -No.

It was the Younger family.

We move on.

Titian was formed from what city-- Titian was from what city, whose other artists included Canaletto?

A-Tech, Mark: Florence -Incorrect.

And that's Palo, either Kevin or Ro: Venice -Yes.

Next question.

Hans Castorp's experiences in a Swiss sanatorium are chronicled in a novel by what author of The Magic Mountain?

A-Tech, Mark: Baldwin -Incorrect.

[bell chimes, time expires] Thomas Mann.

Next question.

What general, who served as US Army Chief of Staff during World War II, had a post-war European Recovery Plan-- That's A-Tech, Callum: Marshall -Yes.

Topologically equivalent to a coffee cup, name this shape-- A-Tech, Carlo: torus -Yes.

This author wrote about Catherine Morland in a satire of the Gothic novel.

Which British novelist wrote Northanger Abbey and Emma?

And that's A-Tech, Mark: Jane Austen -Yes.

What features include Paris's Champs-Élysées and Abbey, which is the namesake of a Beatles album on which cars-- A-Tech, Callum: road -I think we can accept that, yes.

Next question.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was what kind of military ruler that had de-facto-- And that is Palo Verde, Kaia: shogun -Yes.

"Justified true belief" is a popular definition of what concept that is studied in epistemology?

And that's Palo Verde, Caden: truth -I don't think we can accept that.

A-Tech, Carlo: knowledge -That's what we were looking for.

Knowledge is correct.

Next question.

The U.S. imports about 2.8 billion of this flower every year.

According to Shakespeare, a "blank"-- And that is Palo, Kaia: rose -Yes.

Three examples of these texts are Diamond, Heart, and Lotus.

Name this word for Buddhist teachings.

A-Tech, Carlo: Veda -No.

And that's Palo Verde, Kaia: mantra -No.

We were looking for sutras.

No points.

Next question.

Name this contemporary American author of The Cider House Rules and The World According to Garp.

A-Tech, Mark: Bradstreet -Incorrect.

[bell chimes, time expires] -Looking for John Irving.

No points.

Next question.

Children try to cut the strings of what objects in a Khaled Hosseini novel titled for a "runner" of-- A-Tech, Callum: kite -Yes.

What element, atomic number 7, is at the center of ammonia?

And that's Palo, Ro: nitrogen -Yes.

Next question.

Name the explorer who, in 1577, navigated the Strait of Magellan in his ship the Golden Hind.

And that's A-Tech, Mark: Drake -Yes.

Domesticated varieties include the Rex and the Flemish Giant-- And we'll go with Palo, Ro: rabbit -Yes.

The derivative of magnetic flux with respect to time equals the strength-- And that's A-Tech, Carlo: electric field -No.

That is an interruption, and I'll complete the question.

--derivative of magnetic flux with respect to time equals the strength of the electromotive force induced by this person's namesake law of induction.

And that's Palo, Caden: Tesla -No.

We were looking for Faraday.

All right, that finishes up the first round.

But before we go, first of all, breathe.

How about a round of applause for both of these teams.

[applause] We want to take a moment to get to know a bit more about our players.

We're going to start over here with Palo, and we have freshman Kaia.

Hi, Kaia.

-Hi.

How are you doing?

-I'm still mostly sunny.

How are you?

-I'm good.

-You wrote that you play a musical instrument.

-Yes.

I play the viola.

-How long you been doing that?

-Since 6th grade, so about three years now.

-Are you in the school orchestra?

-Yes.

-Good luck with that and here on Varsity Quiz.

Thanks, Kaia.

Here's junior Caden.

Hi, Caden.

-Hi.

How's your day going?

-So far so good.

Now a lot of folks may know what DECA is, but would you be able to tell people briefly what is DECA?

-It's like a business club where you go and present, like, business solutions to judges.

And it's kind of mimicking, like, the real world, where you go out and have to present plans to people.

-Are you guys doing okay?

-Yeah.

I qualified for internationals last week.

-Congratulations.

Good luck with that, and good luck here on Varsity Quiz.

Thanks, Caden.

Here's senior Kevin.

Hey, Kevin.

Good to see you again.

You wrote that you play a musical instrument.

-Yeah.

I play the piano.

-How long you been doing that?

-Ooh, it's been a long time.

I'd say 13 years.

-Is it just for fun, or do you perform in orchestra?

-I do both.

-Both?

-Yeah.

-Right on.

Good luck, and good luck on Varsity Quiz.

Thanks, Kevin.

And here's junior Ro.

Hi, Ro.

-Hello.

-Would you tell me what the nonprofit Readup Youth is.

-Oh, give me a sec.

I swear I put down a different thing.

But recently, my friend and I started a nonprofit where we donated up like $30,000 worth of books, but we also very recently expanded to have AI reach on children.

So we coded an app that creates customizable reading passages.

-Well, whatever you wrote down, that's fantastic.

Thanks, Ro.

Those are our players for Palo Verde!

[applause] Now we're going to get to know a little bit more about the starters here on A-Tech.

We start with freshman Mark.

Hey, Mark.

-Hey.

-You wrote a couple different sports as hobby.

Do you remember what you wrote?

-Yeah, I'm pretty sure.

The main one is baseball.

I like to play that whenever I can.

I also like watching it.

-Yeah.

Do you play on teams that are school related, just for fun?

-No, I don't.

I just play with my friends for fun.

-Right on.

Well, good luck with that.

And the professional season is just getting going.

Do you have a favorite team?

-Yeah.

The Yankees.

-Go Yankees.

All right.

I'm a Dodger fan, but that's okay [whispering].

Mark, thank you, and good luck here on Varsity Quiz.

Here's senior Carlo.

Hey, Carlo.

-Hey.

-Good to see you again.

There's a group that you participate in.

Is it FBLA?

-Yes.

-What is that?

-It's similar to DECA, but the competition events are a little bit more general and not just focused on business solutions.

-So Future Business Leaders?

-Future Business Leaders of America.

-Okay.

Well, good luck with that.

Good luck on Varsity Quiz.

Here's senior Callum.

Callum, good to see you.

-Good to see you, Nate.

-You have some amazing statistics about yourself here about how long it takes you to cook Minute Rice.

-Yes.

I believe, if I'm correct, I put down I can cook Minute Rice in 84 seconds.

-So that's pretty good.

-I think it's pretty good.

-I don't know anybody who's ever done it in an actual minute.

-I've met one or two.

-Okay.

That's a pretty good record.

Good luck with that and here on Varsity Quiz.

Thanks, Callum.

-Here's Bryan.

Hi, Bryan.

-Hello.

-A junior.

This says that you met an astrophysicist.

-Yes, I did.

-Is it somebody we would know, or is it just somebody in the field?

-Not someone you would know, or not many people would know, but he did name a star.

-That's pretty cool.

How'd that work?

How did you meet him?

-I met him through, something through a church program where I met him and he talked about his work.

-Good luck with that, and good luck on Varsity Quiz.

-Thank you.

-Hey, stick around.

Bonus round is coming right up.

All right, the score going into Round 2: Palo Verde has 30 points to A-Tech's 45.

If you were scoring at home, there was a challenge on the question about paratroopers or airbornes.

The airborne answer is being taken as a correct answer, so that's the explanation for the current score.

So Palo Verde is going with the same four players.

A-Tech, we have one new player.

We say hi to Ragaavi.

Hi, Ragaavi.

-Hi.

-Nice to have you with us.

So this round is timed at six minutes, and it starts as I read this question: The town of Pripyat was abandoned due to this disaster-- And we're going to go with Palo, Kevin: Chernobyl nuclear disaster -Incorrect-- that is correct.

Yes, that's correct.

There's bonus questions now for Palo only.

These are history questions.

First, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem was highly involved in this crusade targeting Saladin, during which a Holy Roman Emperor drowned.

Second, during the Second Punic War, Hannibal's most famous victory was at this battle fought in 216 BCE, where he defeated the Roman army that was twice the size of the Carthaginians.

You have 10 seconds.

[students deliberate] Captain.

-First Crusade and the Alps.

-They're both incorrect.

The first question was the Third Crusade, and we were looking for the Battle of Cannae.

No bonus points, but you get the points for the original question.

And this question now for both teams: What Baroque composer wrote many fugues, as well as the Goldberg Variations -- We'll go with A-Tech, Mark: Bach -That is correct.

Bonus fine arts questions for A-Tech only.

First, this family is the namesake of a "House" in St. Petersburg which was commissioned by Alexander III to design many of their jeweled namesake eggs.

Second, this is the two-word name of the technique where a bow is inverted and bounced on strings to produce a percussive effect.

You have 10 seconds.

[students deliberate] Captain.

-First one is Faberge.

Second one is plucked staccato.

-Faberge is correct.

The second one was col legno battuto.

So some bonus points, not all.

And now this question for both teams: What's the word for periodic sea changes caused partly by the sun-- We'll go with A-Tech, Carlo: the tide -Correct.

Bonus science questions now for A-Tech only.

First, mathematicians use these constructs to demonstrate the truth of a statement from a set of given statements.

Second, this logical operator in Boolean algebra is represented by multiplication.

Name the operator that returns true if both of its inputs are true.

You have 10 seconds.

[students deliberate] Captain.

-Propositionary logic and AND.

-AND is correct.

The first one was proofs.

So some bonus points, but not all.

And this question for both teams is a calculation question, students.

What is the value of x when 2x + 3 = 3x - 4?

I'll repeat.

What's the value-- And we're going to go with Palo, Ro: -7 -That is incorrect.

A-Tech, Callum: 7 -Positive 7 is the correct answer.

And these bonus calculation questions now for A-Tech only.

First, the length in inches of a box is 3 inches less than twice its width in inches.

What equation gives the inch length in "L" for inches and "W" for width of that box?

Second, how many irrational numbers are there between 1 and 6?

Let me repeat.

First, the length in inches of a box is 3 inches less than twice its width in inches.

What equation gives the inch length in "L" for inches and "W" for width of the box?

Second, how many irrational numbers are there between 1 and 6?

10 seconds.

[students deliberate] Captain.

-First one is the quantity (2w)- 3 = L. And then the second answer is infinite.

-I think those are both correct.

You got bonus points.

Now this question for both teams: Which university went to the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship four times, winning it in 1990 under head coach Jerry Tarkanian?

And that's A-Tech, Callum: UNLV -That is correct.

And bonus questions about basketball for A-Tech only.

Windmills, tomahawks, and jumping from the free throw line are common in what competition that was won by Mac McClung in both 2023 and 2024?

Second, which NBA player was abruptly dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers in the middle of the season in a controversial blockbuster trade regarded as one of the most shocking unexpected trades in American sports history?

10 seconds.

[students deliberate] Captain.

-First answer, dunk contest; second answer, Luka Doncic.

-The second one is for sure correct, and we'll take the first one as well.

Bonus points on both.

And this question for both teams: Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar, or C, T, and L, are the three regions of-- And we're going to go with Palo, Ro: spine -Correct.

Bonus science questions now for Palo only.

First, these organelles are the site of the Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation.

They are commonly known as the "powerhouse of the cell."

Second, these lymphocytes, that have memory and plasma varieties, undergo maturation in the bone marrow.

You have 10 seconds.

[students deliberate] -For the first, mitochondria; second, white blood cells.

-Mitochondria is correct.

I don't think the second one is correct.

[confers with judges] We were looking for B cells for the second one.

We're out of time.

Speed round coming up.

Score going into Round 3: Palo Verde, 45; A-Tech, 95.

We only say it because we mean it: Anything can happen in this third round.

Palo has a new player.

We say hi to Daniel.

Hi, Daniel.

-Hey.

-Good to have you.

And A-Tech has a new player.

It's William.

Hi, William.

-Hello.

-Good to see you.

You guys ready?

Here we go.

Charlie finds a golden ticket in what author's-- And that is Palo, Ro: Dahl -Yes.

A movement founded by this thinker aims to maximize total happiness-- And that is Palo, Caden: John Locke -Incorrect.

--utilitarianism was founded by what English thinker?

A-Tech, Carlo: Hobbs -No.

It was Jeremy Bentham.

Next question.

What tabloid newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch has a celestial name?

A-Tech, Mark: Chicago Sun -Incorrect.

[bell chimes, time expires] It was just The Sun.

Next question.

In what state is 600 pounds of butter used once a year to sculpt a cow at the state fair-- And we're going to go with Palo.

Is that Ro?

-Wisconsin.

-Incorrect.

--in its state capital, Des Moines?

A-tech, Mark: Iowa -Yes.

Gear trains can "multiply" this quantity, which equals rotational inertia times angular-- A-Tech, Carlo: torque -Yes.

What European country that is divided into cantons-- And that is A-Tech, Callum: Switzerland -Yes.

The second wife of Juan Peron served as First Lady, where she enhanced Argentine legitimacy with her Rainbow Tour of Europe.

[bell chimes, time expires] Eva Peron.

Calculation question.

We don't repeat them here in the third round.

Find all the solutions to the equation x cubed equals 9x.

And we're going to go with Palo, Ro: 3 and -3 -Nope.

A-Tech, Mark: 3 -No.

We needed 3, -3, and 0.

Next question.

Shuri Castle is located on what Japanese island that was home to a battle that was called the "typhoon of steel"?

A-Tech, Mark: Hokkaido -No.

And that is Palo, Kaia: Iwo Jima -No.

We were looking for Okinawa.

Next question.

Once home to the dodo, what Indian Ocean country off the coast-- And we'll go with Palo, Ro: the Seychelles -Incorrect.

--off the coast of Madagascar, governed from Port Louis?

A-Tech, Mark: the Comaros -No.

We were looking for Mauritius or Maurice.

Next question.

Name this Cabinet position held by Albert Gallatin and Alexander Hamilton.

And that is Palo, Caden: Secretary of the Treasury -Yes.

The thought experiment involving a cat that's both alive-- A-Tech, Carlo: Schrödinger -Yes.

What state's highest mountains are the volcanoes Mauna Loa-- And that is Palo, Ro: Hawaii -Yes.

What French post-impressionist painted a variety of still lifes, as well as The Card Players?

A-Tech, Mark: Renoir -Incorrect.

That's Palo, Daniel: Paul Cezanne -Yes.

Who is the correct-- who is the current administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency?

And that is Palo, Daniel: Greta Thunberg -Incorrect.

[bell chimes, time expires] No.

We were looking for Lee Zeldin.

Next question.

Name this former internment camp in California's Owens Valley, which was documented in the photo collection "Born Free and Equal."

And that is Palo, Daniel: Angel Island -No.

A-Tech, Callum: Japanese internment camp -No.

It was the Manzanar War Relocation Center.

Next question.

Which abolitionist edited the NorthStar newspaper for 17 years?

And that is Palo, Caden: Frederick Douglass -Yes.

What branch of Buddhism, primarily practiced in Southeast Asia, split with the Mahayana branch?

And that's Palo, Ro: Hinduism -No.

A-Tech, Mark: Zen -No.

It was Theravada.

Next question.

What people, who were defeated by Ramses III at the Battle of Delta, overran Mycenaean Greece and the-- And that's A-Tech, Carlo: the Sea People -Yes.

What MIT linguist proposed-- And that's A-Tech, Carlo: Noam Chomsky -Yes.

Name this African country with an infamously hyperinflated currency-- A-Tech, Carlo: Zimbabwe -Yes.

Blood is discharged into the pulmonary artery and aorta by what chambers of the heart, which receive blood from the atria?

A-Tech, Mark: ventricles -Yes.

What newspaper's reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, exposed the Watergate scandal?

A-Tech, Callum: New York Times -That's incorrect.

And that's Palo, Caden: The Washington Post -That's correct.

Next question.

Name the German thinker who coined the term "dasein" and wrote Being and Time.

And that's Palo, Ro: Kant -No.

A-Tech, Mark: Kierkegaard -No.

We were looking for Heidegger.

Next question.

Name the wartime Japanese prime minister who ordered the attack on Pearl Harbor.

A-Tech, William: Hirohito -No.

And that's Palo, Daniel: Nawamoto -No.

It was Hideki Tojo.

Next question.

What conflict resulted in the overthrow of Saddam Hussein?

And that's Palo, Ro: Desert Storm -Incorrect.

A-Tech, Callum: The Second Persian Gulf War -Yeah, so that's incorrect.

We were looking for the Second Iraq War.

Next question.

What cytoskeletal structures extend from the mitotic spindle and are made of alpha and beta tubulin?

And that's Palo, Ro: telomeres -No.

A-Tech, Carlo: microtubules -Yes.

And we're out of time.

Let's find out who won.

[crashing sound] Final score: Palo Verde, 60; A-Tech, 140.

Thank you to both teams.

An incredible match.

[applause] Congratulations to A-Tech, because they're going to be matching wits with the winner of next week's match between Coronado and Clark for the title of Varsity Quiz Champion right here on Vegas PBS.

♪♪