- [Narrator] Funding for High School Quiz Show: Austin comes from Sally and James Gavin, Bank of America, Krishna Srinivasan and Raka Sandell.

- Coming up, it's McCallum High School (audience cheering) taking on Round Rock High School.

(audience cheering) That's next on the semifinals of High School Quiz Show: Austin.

(audience cheering) (triumphant music) (audience cheering) Hi everybody, and welcome to High School Quiz Show: Austin.

I'm your host, Joe Hanson.

Today's match features McCallum and Round Rock in our first semifinal.

As always, we start with the toss up round.

All answers are worth 10 points.

There are no point deductions for wrong answers, and players, you may confer.

Okay, teams, if you're ready, good luck.

Here we go.

What desert that covers more than 500,000 square miles in Asia takes its name from a Mongolian word meaning "waterless place?"

(bell dinging) - Gobi?

- [Joe] Tejomay, okay.

- Gobi?

- Gobi Desert is right.

Of the 435 members of the US House of Representatives, Texas has the second most with 38 representatives.

Which state has the most, with 52 representatives?

(bell dinging) Ethan?

- California.

- California is right.

From a Spanish word meaning "pot," what is the name for a paper mache object filled with candy and suspended from a string so people can whack it with a stick until it breaks open and spills the treats?

(bell dinging) Sarah.

- Pinata?

- Pinata is correct.

Two friends you interact with on social media tell you they met IRL.

In this context, what does the abbreviation IRL stand for?

(bell dinging) Tejomay.

- In real life.

- Yes.

In October, 2025, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and New York were announced as the first four cities to host teams in the WPBL, a women's professional league in what sport?

(bell dinging) Mitch?

- Baseball.

- Baseball is right.

Panama is an example of what geographical feature that is defined as a narrow strip of land that connects two larger land masses?

(bell dinging) Elizabeth.

- An isthmus.

- Correct.

What teenage detective character is the protagonist in a series of books by Carolyn Keene that includes "The Secret of the Old Clock," and "The Clue of the Dancing Puppet?"

(bell dinging) Sathvik.

- Nancy Drew.

- Yes.

Dozens of state parks in Texas were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal work program that, along with the Works Progress Administration, was part of what wide ranging federal plan initiated by Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s?

(bell dinging) Sarah.

- The New Deal?

- Yes.

Branford plays saxophone, Wynton plays trumpet, Delfeayo plays trombone, and Jason is a drummer.

What is the surname of this family of jazz musicians?

(bell dinging) Sarah.

- Jackson?

- [Joe] No, McCallum, you have a chance.

(bell dinging) Sutton.

- Partridge family?

- No, that is the Marsalis family.

In Greek mythology, the souls of heroes went to what realm of the afterlife that consisted of the islands of the blessed and a field separated from Hades by the river Lethe?

(bell dinging) Ethan.

- Elysium.

- Yes.

What Venezuelan leader known as, The Liberator, led movements to help six countries in South America gain independence from Spain in the 19th century?

(bell dinging) Sathvik.

- Bolivar.

- Yes, Simone Bolivar.

Which of these trees is coniferous?

Ash, fir, or oak?

(bell dinging) Sathvik.

- Fir.

- Fir tree is right.

This is a math question.

Two positive integers have a sum of 19 and a product of 48.

One number is three.

What is the other number?

(bell dinging) - 16.

- [Joe] Sathvik?

- 16.

- 16 is right.

Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach and Tony Romo have played the most games for the Dallas Cowboys at what position?

(bell dinging) Mitch - Quarterback.

- Yes.

What English author worked as a courtroom stenographer before writing the novels, "David Copperfield" and "Great Expectations?"

(bell dinging) Alex.

- Dickens.

- Yes, Charles Dickens.

Okay, we're off to a great start.

Let's take a moment to thank some of the folks who make this show possible.

- [Narrator] Support for High School Quiz Show: Austin comes from Bank of America, (peaceful music) investing in education and the future of Central Texas youth.

Information at bankofamerica.com.

(audience cheering) - all right, welcome back.

The score is McCallum with 40 points, Round Rock has 100.

Let's get back to the game.

Making the fermented beverage, kombucha, requires a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast commonly known by what acronym?

(bell dinging) Sathvik.

- Micro rose?

- [Narrator] No.

McCallum, you have a chance here.

(bell dinging) Sutton.

- Fermentation?

- No, that is a SCOBY, stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast.

Amharic is a widely spoken language in what East African country whose capital is Addis Ababa?

(bell dinging) Sathvik.

- Ethiopia.

- Ethiopia is right.

During the winter of 1777 and 1778, the Continental Army, led by George Washington, made its encampment at what place about a day's march from Philadelphia?

(bell dinging) Ethan.

- Valley Forge.

- Valley Forge is right.

Which of these states has the most active volcanoes?

Alaska, Hawaii, or Washington?

(bell dinging) Alex.

- Hawaii.

- [Joe] No, Round Rock, you have a chance.

(bell dinging) Tejomay.

- Alaska?

- Alaska is right.

Eliza Doolittle is a main character in what Broadway musical based on the stage play, "Pygmalion," by George Bernard Shaw?

(bell dinging) Sarah.

- "My Fair Lady?"

- Yes.

Sometimes called the Unicorn of the Sea, what marine mammal has a tusk measuring as much as 10 feet long growing from the center of its head?

(bell dinging) Mitch.

- Narwhal.

- Yes.

A 1969 Supreme Court decision in what case held that the rights of high school students to protest the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands was protected by the First Amendment?

(bell dinging) Sathvik.

- Tinker v Des Moines?

- Yes, that is correct.

Next question is a math question.

A right triangle has a hypotenuse of 13 inches and one leg measuring five inches.

What is the length of the other leg?

(bell dinging) - 12.

- [Joe] Sathvik.

- 12.

- 12 inches is right.

What Roman emperor, who ruled from the year 98 to 117, conquered Dacia and expanded the Roman Empire to its greatest size?

(bell dinging) Sathvik.

- Trajan.

- Trajan is right.

A world famous migration of red crabs from the jungle to the sea takes place on what island in the Indian Ocean, named for the holiday on which European sailors first saw it?

(bell dinging) Ethan.

- Christmas Island.

- Christmas Island is right.

The term, Nollywood, refers to the film industry in what African country that produces more than 2,500 movies per year?

(bell dinging) Sutton.

- Nigeria.

- Nigeria is right.

What name for people who destroy public property comes from the Germanic tribes who sacked Rome in the year 455?

(bell dinging) Tejomay.

- Vandal?

- Vandals is right.

In robot combat competition, the weight class for robots weighing no more than one pound is named for what insect in the family formicidae?

(bell dinging) Sathvik.

- Ant?

- Ants is right.

An incident leading up to the Revolutionary War occurred on June 9th, 1772, when colonists in Rhode Island attacked and burned what British naval ship?

(bell dinging) Sathvik.

- The Elizabeth?

- [Joe] No, McCallum, you do have a chance.

(bell dinging) Elizabeth?

- The King George?

- No, that ship was The Gaspy.

Setter and spiker are positions in what indoor team sport that has been part of Olympic competition for both men and women since 1964?

(bell dinging) Ethan.

- Volleyball.

- Volleyball is correct.

(buzzer sounding) all right, that's the end of the round.

McCallum has 60 points, Round Rock with 210 points.

Let's hear it for both teams.

(audience cheering) Last week, Round Rock beat Regents School of Austin to advance to the semifinals.

In today's match, both McCallum and Round Rock hope to advance to the finals.

The head-to-head round is next, but first, we're gonna take a minute to get to know the players.

McCallum, we'll start with you.

This week, we have a question for the whole team.

If you were four superheroes, what would your group be called, and what would your character's power be?

Alex, start with you.

- Well, we would call ourself the Knights of the Night, and I think personally, I would choose like, flying power.

- [Joe] What do you hope to do with that flying power?

- Just not have a need for a car, I guess.

- [Joe] That's pretty good.

- Lower expenses.

- [Joe] Especially with all the construction that's about to start on I-35.

- I agree.

- Elizabeth, what's your superpower?

- Super speed.

- [Joe] How do you think that would help you?

- Well, I do cross country and softball, so it would be really helpful to be able to like, run super fast and then like, go to the Olympics.

That would be so cool.

- Mitch, what's your superpower?

- I would read people's minds.

- Okay.

Are you doing it right now?

(audience laughing) - I wish.

- Now you, this is a potentially dangerous power.

You could learn a lot about people.

You promise to use it for good?

- Yeah.

- Sutton, what's your super power?

- I'd pick telekinesis.

- What kind of objects do you think you'd really like to move?

- I don't know, big rocks, maybe.

- Okay, you didn't say bank vault doors, so that's good.

Filling out the McCallum team, we have alternates, Sophia and Will, and coaches, Clifford Stanchos and Jennifer Richter.

Okay, Round Rock, it's your turn.

If you were four superheroes, what would your group be called?

Tejomay.

- Ours is gonna be called Team Punctuality, actually.

- Is that a problem for the team right now?

- Might have been, yeah.

- So what's your superpower in the team?

- Mine would be the ability to freeze time.

- [Joe] Now are you, I'm seeing a theme here with Team Punctuality that maybe you have to catch up to be on time?

- Yeah.

- Sathvik, what's your superpower?

- Oh, I would've also picked super speed, but for a better reason than them.

No offense.

Because I took, it took 30 minutes for me to like, get here from my house so like, I don't have to do that, you know?

- And so there's theme was traffic you, I'm seeing extra sleep as the theme over there.

Sarah, what's your superpower?

- Teleportation.

- all right, I see it.

The theme continues.

(audience laughter) You just really want that extra 15 minutes, that extra tap on the snooze button, right?

Now would that help you in any other ways besides getting to High School Quiz Show on time?

- Just going between my classes, probably.

We've got a big campus at Round Rock.

- Ethan, what's your superpower?

- I chose ice.

- [Joe] All right.

- I'm already punctual enough, so.

(audience laughter) - Now the city's got a bad history with ice.

You have to be very careful with how you use that power.

What do you wanna use that for?

- Just cool stuff, you know, like my favorite ninja was always Zane, so.

- Fun fact.

Also on the Round Rock team, we have alternates, Aria and Netra, and coach Julia Bailey, and joining us from Round Rock is principal Gordon Butler.

(audience cheering) Okay, it's time for the head-to-head round.

In this round, correct answers add 10 points to the team total, and wrong answers result in a 10 point deduction.

The clock is set at one minute, 30 seconds.

How about a friendly handshake before we get started?

Okay, here we go.

In the northern hemisphere, the longest day of the year occurs in which month?

(bell dinging) - June.

- Yes.

A spinoff of "The Walking Dead" TV series stars Norman Reedus as what title character?

(buzzer sounding) Daryl Dixon.

In a book by Dr.

Seuss, what grumpy green character plots to steal... (bell dinging) - Grinch?

- Yes.

In a recent movie, Paddington Bear travels to what South American... (bell dinging) - Peru?

- Yes.

The title of Madeleine L'Engle's first book about Meg Murray... (bell dinging) - Oh, Walking Dead.

- Oh, no, time.

What holiday celebrates Mexico's victory over... - Dia, oh, nevermind.

- No, Cinco de Mayo.

Which US president signed the Affordable Care Act into law?

(bell dinging) - Obama.

- Yes.

An analogous to the Roman God, Vulcan, who was the Greek God of the Forge?

(buzzer sounding) Hephaestus.

Which is the lightest of the noble gases?

(buzzer sounding) That's helium.

What city is the capital of Arkansas?

(bell dinging) - Little Rock.

- Yes.

Bowline and clove hitch are examples of what thing useful to sailors and rock climbers?

- Ropes?

- No, knots.

Which river provides most of the drinking water for Washington, DC?

(bell dinging) - Potomac?

- Yes.

The African country whose name is abbreviated DRC is... (bell dinging) - Democratic Republic of Congo.

- We're just looking for The Congo.

What simple machine consists of two inclined planes and is used to split two objects apart?

(buzzer sounding) That is a wedge.

(bell sounding) And that is the end of the round.

McCallum has 90 points.

Round Rock has 200 points.

Let's give it up for both teams.

(audience cheering) all right teams, in the previous round, the judges ruled that Democratic Republic of Congo was an acceptable answer.

We've adjusted the scores.

McCallum now is 110, Round Rock with 200 points, and it's time for the category round.

Today's categories are, Hook 'em Horns, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, Sweet 16th Century, Power Up, Blanking on the Title, and A Cat's Life.

All categories have five questions with increasing point value.

Teams will choose two categories each, and have the option to toss one question per category to the other team that the other team must answer.

Players, you are able to confer.

Okay, McCallum, who's your spokesperson?

- I am.

- Elizabeth, all right.

Round Rock, how about you?

Tejomay.

Okay, McCallum, you have a little ground to make up.

So the first category goes to you.

- We'll do, Won't You Be My Neighbor?

- An excellent PBS-appropriate selection.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

These are questions about geographical borders.

Which of Canada's prairie provinces is bordered by Manitoba on the east and Alberta on the west?

- Saskatchewan.

- Saskatchewan.

- Saskatchewana?

- No, it's Saskatchewan, is that answer.

For 15 points, what city on the border between Texas and Arkansas has a municipal courthouse on the on North State Line Avenue, half in Texas, half in Arkansas?

- Texarkana.

- Yes.

For 20 points, adventurous travelers can zipline over the Guadiana River across the border from Spain into what neighboring country?

- Portugal.

- Portugal.

- Portugal is correct.

For 25 points, the largest desert in South Asia is the Tar Desert, which stretches from northern India into which country that borders India on the west?

- Pakistan.

- Pakistan is correct.

For 30 points in Won't You Be My Neighbor?

In 2018, Saudi Arabia proposed constructing a canal along its land border with what Persian Gulf nation, effectively turning that nation into an island?

- Qatar.

- Qatar is correct.

All right, Round Rock, your first category.

- [Tejomay] We'll do Sweet 16th Century.

- Sweet 16th Century.

These are questions about world history from 1500 to 1599.

For 10 points, in Germany in 1517, what religious reformer published a document known as the "95 Theses?"

- Martin Luther?

- Yes.

For 15 points, in a 1588 naval conflict, the English navy defeated a fleet of ships from Spain.

By what name is that Spanish fleet commonly known?

- The Spanish Armada.

- Yes.

For 20 points, a colony of English settlers arrived in North America in 1587 and mysteriously vanished by 1590.

That colony is known by what name that refers to the island off the coast of North Carolina where they settled?

- Roanoke.

- Yes.

For 25 points, established by Ernan Cortez in 1519, the first Spanish settlement in Mexico had what name that means true cross in Spanish?

- We'll toss this.

- [Joe] Okay, McCallum, this question goes to you.

- Oh, Veracruz.

- Veracruz is correct.

Round Rock, for 30 points.

Emperor Akbar the Great was just 13 years old when he began his nearly 50 year rule of what empire of India?

- Mughals.

- The Mughals is right.

McCallum, your category.

- [Mitch] Blanking on the Title.

- [Elizabeth] Okay, blanking on the Title.

- Blanking on the Title.

Fill in the missing word in each of these literary titles.

For 10 points, the missing word in the title of Khaled Hosseini's novel, A blank Splendid Suns, is what number represented by M in Roman numerals?

- A thousand.

- Yes.

For 15 points, blank Man is the title of a 1952 novel by Ralph Ellison about a nameless character.

What word that means not perceptible by the eye fills in the blank?

- Municipal.

- I said invisible.

- My bad, sorry.

- I said invisible.

- No, yeah, Elizabeth, we have to take your answer.

Invisible is what we're looking for.

For 20 points, what word that refers to honesty and sincerity fills in the blank in the title of a comic play by Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being, blank.

- Earnest.

- Earnest.

- Yes.

For 25 points in blanking on the title, a young adult thriller by Robert Cormier is called, I Am the blank.

The blank is filled by the name of what food mentioned in the nursery rhyme, "The Farmer in the Dell?"

- We'll pass.

- We're looking for cheese.

Cheese stands alone.

For 30 points, using the Salem Witch Trials as a metaphor for the communist red scare of the 1950s, a play by Arthur Miller is titled, The blank.

What name for a type of pot used to melt metals at high temperatures fills in that blank?

- "The Crucible."

- Yes.

Round Rock, your category.

- [Tejomay] We'll do Power Up.

- Power Up.

These are questions about the concept of power in science and technology.

For 10 points, in physics, power is defined as the rate at which work is done.

It is measured in what unit named for a Scottish engineer known for his work on the steam engine?

- Watt?

- Watt, watt, watt.

Watt.

- Watt?

- Yes, Watt, named for James Watt.

For 15 points, fuel cell electric vehicles are powered by what compressed gas that mixes with oxygen to generate energy and produce water vapor exhaust?

- Hydrogen.

- Yes.

For 20 points, the first induction motor powered by alternating current was invented by what engineer who is pictured on the currency of Serbia today?

- That's Nicola Tesla.

- Yes.

For 25 points in Power Up, rechargeable batteries used to power most cell phones and small electronics rely on ionized atoms of what metallic element with atomic number three?

- Lithium.

- Yes, and for 30 points, the largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States is what dam on the Columbia River in Washington state that began operation in 1941?

- The Grand Cooley Dam?

- Yes, that's correct.

(buzzer sounding) And that is the end of the category round.

McCallum has 260 points, and Round Rock has 375 points.

Let's hear a little love for both teams.

(audience cheering) Okay, we're heading into the final round of play, the lightning round.

Correct answers add 20 points to the team total, and there is a 20 point deduction for incorrect answers.

The clock is set.

Here we go.

In US currency, how many nickels are in a quarter?

(bell dinging) Sathvik.

- Five.

- Yes.

Ryan Gosling played Ken and Margot Robbie played, (bell dinging) Alex?

- "Barbie."

- Yes.

CT is the US postal abbreviation for which new... (bell dinging) Tejomay.

- Connecticut.

- Yes.

Indira Gandhi was the first female prime minister of... (bell dinging) Mitch.

- India.

- [Joe] Yes.

The Texas Military Forces Museum is on the grounds of what... (bell dinging) Sutton.

- Camp Mabry?

- [Joe] Yes.

Thin Mints and Trefoils are cookies... (bell dinging) Alex?

- Girl Scout cookies.

- Incorrect.

We were looking for Girl Scouts of the USA.

Mehmed the sixth was the last sultan of what... (bell dinging) - Otttoman Empire.

- [Joe] Mitch, yes.

Folk hero, Paul Bunyan, has a pet blue ox with what name?

(bell dinging) Mitch.

- Babe.

- [Joe] Yes.

Named for US President James Monroe, Monrovia is the capital.... - Liberia.

- Yes.

Bigger Thomas is the protagonist in what 1940 novel by Richard Wright?

(buzzer sounding) "Native Son."

What is the total number of atoms in one molecule of water?

(bell dinging) Sathvik.

- Three.

- [Joe] Yes.

Brunost is a distinctive brown cheese traditionally produced in what Nordic... (bell dinging) Sutton.

- Sweden.

- [Joe] No, Norway.

The title of an 1854 book by Henry David Thoreau refers to what pond... (bell dinging) - Walden.

- [Joe] Yes.

What divided island north of Australia is the second largest... (bell dinging) - Papua New Guinea.

- [Joe] No, the answer is just New Guinea.

Founded in 1946, what international high IQ society takes its name... (bell dinging) - Mensa.

- [Joe] Yes.

The Mississippi River begins in Minnesota and ends in what southern state?

(bell dinging) Sathvik.

- Louisiana.

- [Joe] Yes.

What is the name for the cluster of genes controlled by a promoter?

(bell dinging) Sathvik.

- Entron.

- [Joe] No, operon.

Although Spanish and Creole... (buzzer sounding) Now that is the end of the round, and the winning team this week is Round Rock, with a final score of 435 points.

(audience cheering) McCallum finishes with 360 points.

Congratulations to both teams for a great game.

Round Rock now moves on to the finals.

Join us next week for the last semifinal match between LASA, the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, and Marble Falls High School.

Excitement is building, so be sure to join us right here on High School Quiz Show: Austin.

(audience applauding) (triumphant music) - [Narrator] Funding for High School Quiz Show: Austin comes from Sally and James Gavin, Bank of America, Krishna Srinivasan and Raka Sandell.

(bright flute music)