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

Coming up next on Varsity Quiz, it's Liberty... (cheers and applause) Taking on Clark.

This is Varsity Quiz!

(crashing sound) ♪♪♪ (cheers and applause) (Nate Tannenbaum) Hi, and welcome to the 53rd season of Varsity Quiz where the best and brightest high school students match wits in this unique academic competition.

Well, the road to the Silver League title continues as Liberty is facing Clark.

Now, Liberty defeated Palo Verde in the quarterfinals to earn their spot here.

Let's meet their starters.

We have Kayleb.

Hey, Kayleb.

-Hello.

-Koreen.

Hi, Koreen.

-Hello.

-Mikayla.

-Hi.

-And Jo.

-Hi.

And the coach for Liberty, David Fisher.

For Clark, they are here after their quarterfinal win over Green Valley.

The starters for Clark, there's Kevin.

Hey, Kevin.

-Hey.

-Angus.

-Hello.

-Blu.

-Hi.

-And Parth.

-Hello.

-And the coach for Clark, Chuck Bean.

Students, are you ready?

Let's play Varsity Quiz.

Ogden Nash wrote the following, inspired by whose poem: "I think that I shall never see, "a billboard lovely as a tree.

"Perhaps unless the billboards fall, "I'll never see a tree at all."

Liberty, Jo: Shel Silverstein.

No.

Time.

We were looking for Joyce Kilmer.

Next, Nikki the Cat is a terror in the neighborhood.

The local mice hatch a plan to tie her down like Gulliver and clip all of her claws.

How many nails in total are standard equipment on a cat?

Liberty, Jo: 20.

Incorrect.

Clark, Parth: 24.

Incorrect.

It's 18.

No points, we move on.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race takes place in March and begins in Anchorage.

Where does it end?

Clark, Blu: Nome.

Yes.

Points on the board for Clark.

Whose image is set to replace that of Andrew Jackson on the-- Liberty, Mikayla: Harriet Tubman.

Yes.

Points on the board for Liberty.

While a colony of Germany, this southern African nation was called South West Africa.

What's its name as an independent nation?

Clark, Angus: Namibia.

Yes.

Next question.

What term is a title of respect in some circles for men such as Paul Castellano, Carlo Gambino, Vito Genovese, Frank Costello, Sam Giancana and John Gotti?

It's also the name of a baptismal sponsor.

Clark, Angus: Godfather.

Yes.

Next is a calculation question.

Leon invested $250 four years ago.

The investment's interest was compounded monthly, and after 48 months, he has $1,000.

What was the annual interest rate of his investment?

Clark, Parth: 12 root of 2.

-Pardon me?

-12 root of 2.

-I don't know if that's a correct answer or not.

He said 12 root of 2, and the judges tell me that is incorrect.

(bell chimes, time expires) We were looking for 3.52%.

Next question.

Who was the first Whig president to serve a complete term?

Clark, Blu: Quincy Adams.

Incorrect.

(bell chimes, time expires) None have served a complete term.

Next question.

What kind of modifier is illustrated in these examples: We saw cotton growing from our car window.

This bank approves loans to people with good credit of any size.

The mayor discussed the high cost of living with several women.

And I saw a huge rock taking a walk in the woods.

Liberty, Kayleb: Misplaced modifier.

Yes, I think we can accept that.

Although born in Egypt, Cleopatra was not Egyptian.

Instead, she traced her origins to which part of the world?

Liberty, Mikayla: Greece.

Incorrect.

Clark, Blu: Persia.

No.

We were looking for Macedonia.

Next question.

In Greek myth, what's the river of forgetfulness?

Clark, Blu: Lethe.

-I don't know if that's a correct pronunciation.

Okay, yes.

Although it is spelled differently, what's the surname of the American general and aviation pioneer that sounds just like the surname of the English doctor and veterinarian created by Hugh Lofting?

Liberty, Mikayla: Doolittle.

Yes.

Next question.

Hillsborough, Craigowan Lodge, Sandringham, Balmoral and Windsor are all residences belonging to whom?

Clark, Blu: The British royal family.

No, incorrect.

Liberty, Jo: The Queen of England.

Judges?

She was looking for something more specific, so we're going to count that as incorrect.

We were looking for Queen Elizabeth II.

We move on now.

Next is a calculation question.

One pipe can fill a swimming pool 1.25 times as fast as a second pipe.

When both pipes are used, they fill the pool in 5 hours.

How long would it take to fill that pool if only the slower pipe is used?

Clark, Parth: 9 hours.

Incorrect.

Liberty, Koreen: 8 hours.

No.

We were looking for 11.25 hours.

Next question.

Which award did Johannes Stark, Niels Bohr, Victor Francis Hess, Erwin Schrodinger and Marie Curie all win?

Clark, Kevin: Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Incorrect.

Liberty, Jo: Nobel Prize in Physics.

Yes.

Next question.

Considered one of the most effective labor organizers of her time, name the woman who was born Mary G. Harris, who emigrated from Ireland, taught school, organized mine workers and helped found the International Workers of the World.

Her name was chosen for a very liberal magazine that began publishing in 1976.

Clark, Angus: Mother Jones.

Yes.

The curvature is greatest at the crest of what convex, archlike fold at the Earth's surface?

Clark, Kevin: Crest.

Incorrect.

(bell chimes, time expires) We were looking for the anticline.

Next question.

What's the highest peak in the continental United States?

Clark, Blu: Mt.

Whitney.

Yes.

If you need to remove things like the Adam's Apple, Brain Freeze, a Wrenched Ankle or Water on the Knee, what game are you playing?

Clark, Parth: Operation.

Yes.

Which author produced the Underland Chronicles-- Liberty, Jo: Suzanne Collins.

Yes.

Next is a calculation question.

A certain restaurant serves apple pie and cherry pie.

On average 60% of the customers choose apple pie.

Now, if the next four customers order pie, to the nearest tenth, what's the probability that three of them are going to order the cherry pie?

Liberty, Jo: .216.

Incorrect.

In time or not in time?

In time.

Clark, Parth: .2.

Incorrect.

We were looking for .1536 or 15.4%.

No points, next question.

Despite a mailing address of Las Vegas, Nevada, in reality the resorts along the Strip or Las Vegas Boulevard-- Liberty, Jo: Paradise.

That is incorrect, and that is an interrupt.

I will complete the question for Clark.

Most other places south of Sahara but not in Henderson are governed by which political body?

Clark, Blu: North Las Vegas.

Incorrect.

We were looking for the Clark County Commission.

Next question.

On February 3 of this year, which company lost more than a quarter of its total worth, a figure Bloomberg finally set at $251 billion in value?

That 26% loss constitutes the single greatest one-day loss in stock market history.

Clark, Parth: Tesla.

No.

Liberty, Mikayla: 1928.

No.

It was Meta, the parent company of Facebook.

Next question.

Which Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein musical was based upon an Edna Ferber novel about-- Liberty, Jo: Showboat.

Yes.

Combine these two sentences into one using apposition: "The boll weevil ate my cotton.

"The boll weevil is a beetle."

Clark, Blu: "The boll weevil, "a beetle, ate my cotton."

Yes.

A weird way to end our first round, but so it is.

Before we move on, we're going to learn a little bit more about our players.

We really had a tough match going here, but let's take a break and say hello to our players.

From Liberty, first we have 10th grader Kayleb.

Hey, Kayleb.

-Hello.

-Good to see you again.

It says you participate in track and field.

-Yes.

-Do you have a specific event?

-I do long distance and pole vaulting.

-Wow!

How are you doing there?

-I'm doing pretty good.

-Awesome.

Keep up the good work.

Good luck here on Varsity Quiz.

Here's 12th grader Koreen.

Hi, Koreen.

-Hello.

-Good to see you again.

It says here you are pretty sure of what you want to major in in college.

Do you remember what you wrote down?

-I want to go into engineering, mostly aerospace or biomedical.

-Wonderful!

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

Thanks, Koreen.

Here's 12th grader Mikayla.

Hi, Mikayla.

-Hi.

-Good to see you again.

It says here you play four musical instruments.

What are they?

-I do, I play piano, guitar, flute and violin.

-Wow!

Probably not all at the same time.

-No.

-Okay.

Good luck with all of that.

And Mikayla, good luck here on Varsity Quiz.

Good to see you.

-Thank you.

-Here's 12th grader Jo.

Hi, Jo.

-Hi.

-You wrote something down about helping children with a specific sport.

What do you do?

-Yes.

Just like our old captain a couple years ago, Ryan, I am a youth soccer coach.

I used to coach for a child development program called Little Kickers.

Unfortunately, the place I work just closed but now I am coaching specifically goalkeepers.

I'm helping my old coach with that.

-That is wonderful.

Keep that up, and good luck on Varsity Quiz.

Those are our players for Liberty!

Good to see you guys.

(applause) Now we're going to learn more about our players from Clark.

We'll start with 12th grader Kevin.

Hi, Kevin.

-Hello.

-It says here you have studied a foreign language so much that you know a specific dialect.

-Yes.

Not studied, but I was born in the province of-- not province, municipality of Chongqing, and I know how to speak both Mandarin and that dialect.

-Wow!

Well, hopefully we'll keep it in English for the rest of us here today.

But Kevin, that's amazing.

Good luck with that and on Varsity Quiz.

Thank you, sir.

Here's 12th grader Angus.

Hi, Angus.

-Hello.

-What happens in the drama club at Clark?

-Well, in Clark's drama club, we hang out, we like to perform.

Currently, we're working on some monologues that we're going to have a little competition within our circle.

And we also help decorate the theater for the upcoming musical.

-Wonderful!

Well, keep up that good work and good luck on Varsity Quiz.

Thanks, Angus.

-Thank you.

-Here's 12th grader Blu.

Blu, you've been with us for a long time, but you wrote down a specific hobby that we talked about a week or so ago was Wikipedia reading.

But you wrote down another thing that you like as a hobby.

Do you remember what that might have been?

-Not quite.

-I think you were too tired because it said here your hobby is sleeping.

-Oh, yes.

-Well, good luck with that.

Not during the game, though.

-Yes.

-Okay.

Good luck on Varsity Quiz.

And 10th grader Parth is back with us.

-Hi, Parth.

-Hello.

-Good to see you again.

I know you're a Wikipedia nut too, but you also said something about a specific type of game that you like to play.

-Yes, I like to play rhythm games.

-I don't know what those are.

-You click things in tune to music.

I'm pretty bad at them, but still... -It sounds like a Tik Tok thing or something.

-No.

-Okay.

Well, good luck with that and on Varsity Quiz.

Those are our students from Clark.

(applause) And our bonus round is coming right up.

(crashing sound) Now, if you're following along at home, you may have a different score.

We've had some discussions between the judges and the coaches, and as we go into round two the official score, Liberty has 30 points and Clark has 45.

Now for Liberty, there's one new player.

We say hello to Michael.

Hi, Michael.

-Hi.

-Welcome, good luck to you.

Clark is keeping their same players from the first round.

So we are ready for the bonus round.

Now, this round is timed at six minutes, and time starts as I start this question.

Opera is an enduring form of music with a very loyal following.

Although the 18th century saw composers like Haydn, Beethoven and Mozart also write operas, the 19th century produced more composers known first for their operas.

Well, which venue in the city of Milan hosted the largest number of premiere performances during that period?

Clark, Blu: "La Strada."

No.

(bell chimes, time expires) We were looking for La Scala.

Next question for both teams with no points yet in this round is a calculation question.

Students, what's the greatest number of tangent lines that can be drawn for two circles that do not intersect?

Clark, Parth: Two.

Incorrect.

Liberty, Jo: One.

Incorrect.

The answer, four.

Next question for both teams.

A sailor who sees a red square flag with a smaller black square in its center just saw which weather indicator?

Clark, Angus: Hurricane.

No.

Liberty, Jo: Typhoon.

No.

All we wanted was a storm warning.

So we move on.

Which president got Patent No.

6469 for a device to buoy and lift boats over shoals and other river obstructions?

Clark, Parth: Lincoln.

Yes.

Bonus questions for Clark only about inventions: First, in 1896, the U.S. government issued Patent No.

558,393 for "Flaked Cereals and Process "for Preparing Same" to a doctor from Battle Creek, Michigan.

What was his last name?

Second, what Delaware-based chemical company received patents for inventing nylon, neoprene, Kevlar, Mylar, Lycra and Teflon?

Ten seconds.

For the first answer, Kellogg, and for the second, DuPont.

Both are correct; you've got bonus points.

Now this question for both teams.

Name two of the team sports at the Winter Olympics that is a sport that does not have an event for a single person.

Did he get in?

Clark, Angus: Curling and Bobsledding.

Yes.

Another would have been hockey.

Bonus questions for Clark about the Winter Games: First, what is the only place in the United States to host the Winter Games more than once?

Second, there are four figure skating events: Men's Singles, Ladies Singles and which two others?

For the first, Lake Placid; for the second, Pairs and Ice Dancing.

Both are correct; you've got bonus points.

Now this question for both teams.

The historian Suetonius in The 12 Caesars related that among the first's many accomplishments was an ability to read Latin without mouthing the text, then written without spacing between words.

Who was this great Roman?

Clark, Blu: Augustus.

No.

(bell chimes, time expires) We were looking for Julius Caesar.

Next question for both teams.

What industry created most of the fortune that established Stanford University?

Liberty, Jo: Oil.

No.

Clark, Blu: Railroads.

Yes.

Bonus questions for Clark.

Answer the following about Stanford: First, the first student admitted to the school in 1891 became the nation's 31st president.

Who was it?

Second, the school's athletic teams are called the "Cardinal" - the color.

What is the identifiable mascot seen at sporting events?

You have 10 seconds.

For the first, Warren G. Harding, and for the second, the tree.

The tree is correct.

The future president was Herbert Hoover.

So some bonus points.

Quickly to this next question for both teams.

What role did Desmond Llewelyn, John Cleese and Ben Whishaw play in the 25 different James Bond movies?

Clark, Blu: "Q."

Yes.

Bonus questions for Clark about James Bond: First, aside from Q and Bond, who is the only other character that appears in every single movie?

Second, which movie was filmed and partially set in Las Vegas?

You have ten seconds.

For the first, "M," and for the second, Goldfinger.

Both are incorrect.

We were looking for Miss Moneypenny and Diamonds Are Forever.

And we are out of time.

The speed round is next.

The score as we go into round three, Liberty with 30 points to Clark's 90.

We only say it because we mean it, because really anything can happen in this speed round.

We want to introduce a returning player for Liberty, Kayleb is back.

Hi, Kayleb.

-Hello.

-Welcome back.

Clark has two new players.

There's Siddharth.

Hi, Siddharth.

-Hello.

-And Alex.

Welcome aboard.

-Hello.

-So in the speed round, we have 30 questions and correct answers are worth five points.

It's also a timed round at six minutes.

We'll get to as many as we can.

If we get to all 30 before six minutes is up, obviously the match will be over.

Let's go.

What was the second state after Nevada to legalize casino gaming in the U.S.?

Liberty, Jo: Louisiana.

Incorrect.

Clark, Angus: New Jersey.

Yes.

Walton Enterprises is the parent company of which national retailer?

Clark, Blu: Walmart.

Yes.

Currently, who serves as Nevada's senior United States Senator?

Clark, Blu: Jackie Rosen.

Incorrect.

Liberty, Mikayla: Catherine Cortez Masto.

Yes.

What kind of facility in ancient Rome might have included a caldarium, tepidarium and frigidarium?

Clarke, Blu: Baths.

Yes.

Based on a yellow crystalline compound, what's the three-letter abbreviation used in expressing the explosive yield of bombs?

Clark, Alex: TNT.

Yes.

What kind of poem consists of three lines in each stanza, each of which share the same end rhyme?

Clark, Blu: Sestina.

Incorrect.

(bell chimes, time expires) We were looking for a triplet.

Next question.

The Aryan people who arrived in India about 1500 B.C.

spoke and wrote what language?

Clark, Angus: Sanskrit.

Yes.

What kind of lightning appears as luminous, spherical objects varying from pea-sized to many meters in diameter?

Clarke, Blu: Ball lightning.

Yes.

Next is a calculation question.

We don't repeat here in the third round.

Fred invested $10,000 in two accounts, one paying 5% annually, the other 9% annually.

How much was invested at 9% if the annual incomes from both investments was $660?

(bell chimes, time expires) We were looking for $4,000.

Next question.

In 1973 a military coup overthrew the democratically elected government of Chile.

Who led the government and rule that country until 1990?

Liberty, Kayleb: Pinochet.

Yes.

What did Austrian physicist Erwin Schrodinger use as an example to illustrate the inherent uncertainty-- Liberty, Kayleb: Cat.

That is incorrect.

I will finish reading the question.

--inherent uncertainty of quantum mechanics?

Clark, Alex: A cat in a box.

Incorrect.

"A cat that is dead and alive at the same time" is what we were looking for.

What term for a watertight chamber used for building underwater bridge foundations is also a term for a horse-drawn vehicle used to carry ammunition or coffins at military funerals?

Liberty, Jo: Hearse.

No.

(bell chimes, time expires) It is a caisson.

Next question.

Many metamorphic rocks have flat or wavy parallel bands.

Name this characteristic.

Clark, Alex: Cleavage.

Incorrect.

Liberty, Jo: Strata.

No.

We were looking for foliation.

Next, 57 members of the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence.

Which delegate famously refused to sign the document because he hoped for a reconciliation with Great Britain?

Clark, Alex: Thomas Jefferson.

Incorrect.

(bell chimes, time expires) John Dickinson.

Next question.

The Big Island, Hawaii is the largest island in the Hawaiian Islands.

What's the second largest island?

Liberty, Jo: Oahu.

Incorrect.

Clark, Blu: Kauai.

No.

It's Maui.

Name the X-shaped structure formed at the point where the two optic nerves cross over each other.

(bell chimes, time expires) It's the old optic chiasma.

Next question.

On January 22 of this year, Marvin Lee Aday died at the age of 74.

He considered himself an actor but had a very successful career as a singer with the album Bat Out of Hell selling more than 44 million copies.

By what name was Aday better known?

Clark, Blu: Sidney Poitier.

Incorrect.

Liberty, Mikayla: Meatloaf.

Yes, it's Meatloaf.

Bronsted and Lowry regarded acids as donors and bases as acceptors.

So in this context, what are donated and accepted?

Liberty, Jo: Hydrogen ions.

Yes.

Name the North American colony of New France that included parts of Maine, eastern Quebec and the Maritime Provinces.

Clark, Blu: Acadia.

Yes.

Which team won the NFL Pro Bowl that was held in Las Vegas on February 6?

Liberty, Michael: AFC.

Yes.

Name the unit of pressure that is 14.7 pounds per square inch.

Liberty, Jo: Pascal.

No.

Clark, Alex: Torr.

No.

We were looking for atmosphere.

Got a calculation question again, and we don't repeat here.

Maggie just sold the north half of the northwest quarter of her 840-acre farm.

How much property does Maggie still own?

(bell chimes, time expires) It's 735 acres.

Next, five years after the gunfight at the O.K.

Corral, Texas John Slaughter was elected sheriff of what Arizona county-- Liberty, Mikayla: Phoenix.

Incorrect.

--named for a famous Chiricahua Apache leader?

Clark, Angus: Geronimo.

No.

It's Cochise County.

At his 1948 eulogy for Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru said, "A madman has put an end to his life."

He was referring to Nathuram blank.

(bell chimes, time expires) Godse.

We're out of time.

Let's find out who won.

(crashing sound) Final score, Liberty 55 to Clark with 125.

If that doesn't match what you had at home, we did have some more adjustments talking with judges and coaches.

But again, congratulations to both teams for an excellent match, and congratulations to Clark for the win.

That sends them to the championship match against Coronado next week on Varsity Quiz right here on Vegas PBS.

♪♪♪