-Students from South County... ♪♪ ...Edison... ♪♪ ...and Bethesda-Chevy Chase meet today on "It's Academic".

♪♪ Hello, everybody.

I'm Hillary Howard and 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."

-Now let's meet these teams.

We begin with South County High School from Lorton, Virginia.

Mackenzie, Tyler, Morgan.

Hey, glad to have you here today.

-Hi.

-Hi.

-From Edison High School in Fairfax County.

Erol, Hope, Smyth, great to have you on "It's Academic".

-Hello.

-Hi.

-Hi, Hillary.

-And finally, from Bethesda-Chevy Chase in Montgomery County, James, Sasha, and Kate, thanks for being on "It's Academic".

Let's embark on the opening round where questions are worth 20 points.

Nothing off for a wrong answer.

All right, let's kick this competition off with the opening round.

South County, you're up.

Mackenzie, Tyler, Morgan, here we go.

First question.

You'll dance to 20 points if you find hidden here the name of what Middle East country whose capital is Amman.

-Jordan.

-Confer Jordan.

-Yeah, Jordan.

-Final answer Jordan.

-Jordan it is.

"Barely noticeable", "very obvious", "dangerous".

If there is an imperceptible change in air quality, that change can best be described by which of these phrases?

-Conferring barely noticeable.

-Barely noticeable, yeah.

-Barely noticeable.

-Final answer barely noticeable.

-Yeah.

Here, you see this chemical symbol for copper.

But by filling in the spaces, you can get the name of what other element?

whose symbol is Hg?

Answer in three, two, one.

It is Mercury.

Hammerhead, thresher.

Here you have two species of what large fish whose great white variety put some snap into the movie "Jaws".

-Conferring shark.

-Conferring shark.

-Shark, yeah, shark.

-Shark final answer.

-Yeah, shark it is.

"Evil to her was but the promise of good."

thus did one biographer described Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the lyrics for what Civil War song whose chorus includes the words "Glory, glory, hallelujah."

-"Battle Hymn of the Republic".

-Defer to Tyler.

-"Battle Hymn of the Republic".

-Tyler, you nailed it.

It's the "Battle Hymn of the Republic".

Great job, South County.

You have 180 points.

All right, Team Two from Fairfax County's Edison High School.

Erol, Hope, Smyth, you're up.

Here's the first question.

Stop an amateur.

Instead of worrying about amateurs, see if you can find hidden in this phrase the name of what Central American country.

-Deferring -- sorry, conferring Panama.

-Yeah, Panama.

-Mm-hmm.

-Panama final answer.

-Yep, it's Panama.

Repugnant, enticing, harmonious.

Something that is very offensive to you can best be described by which of these adjectives?

-Conferring repugnant.

-Conferring repugnant.

-Repugnant -- Repugnant final answer.

-Repugnant it is.

By adding the right letters, you can convert this simple article into what ancient Greek temple built on the Acropolis.

-Pantheon, confirming Pantheon.

-Parthenon, Parthenon.

It's Parthenon.

-Parthenon final answer.

-Yeah, I'm glad you did that.

It's the Parthenon.

Bjorn Ironside, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye.

These were two brothers of Ivar the Boneless, a ninth century leader of what V-initialed seafarers famous for their raids on England.

-Conferring Vikings.

-Vikings.

-Viking.

-Yeah, okay.

Vikings final answer.

-Yeah.

Love those names, don't you?

"Cats with blue eyes are invariably deaf."

This rather surprising conclusion came from what English naturalist who surprised the world with his theory of evolution.

-Conferring Darwin.

-Darwin.

-Yes.

Charles Darwin final answer.

-Charles Darwin is right.

Edison, nice job.

200 points.

BCC, you're up for the opening round.

Here's your first question.

Coal ban year.

You won't be banned from getting more points if you can find in this phrase the hidden name of what capital of New York State.

-Conferring Albany.

-Conferring Albany.

-Final answer Albany.

-Yep.

Difficult, disrespectful, distorted.

Which of these choices best defines the word arduous?

-Conferring difficult.

-Difficult.

Yeah.

-Final answer difficult.

-You got it again.

You'll find the element tin in the middle of the name of what other metal whose symbol is Pt?

-Conferring platinum.

-Yeah.

-Final answer platinum.

-Platinum is the right answer.

Hungary, Haiti.

Here you have two of the three H-initial countries in the United Nations.

Missing is what Central American country whose capital is Tegucigalpa?

-Conferring Honduras.

-Conferring Honduras.

-Honduras, yeah.

-Final answer Honduras.

-Yep.

"The tough coughs as he ploughs the dough."

To illustrate the problems of English pronunciation, this sentence was cited by what author of children's books like "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas!"

-Conferring... -Dr. Seuss.

-Final answer Dr. Seuss.

-It is the remarkable Dr. Seuss.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase, you got them all.

200 points.

And that's the end of the opening round.

The Picture Perfect Round is next.

-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.

-All right, let's jump into the Picture Perfect Round where questions are worth 20 points up or down, 10 points off for not answering at all.

Team One, South County High School.

Mackenzie, Tyler, Morgan, here's the first question.

This royal crown was worn by what last German Kaiser who reigned during World War I?

-Wilhelm II.

-Confer to Tyler.

-Yeah, you got it, Tyler.

-Wilhelm II.

-Wilhelm II.

Nicely done.

This Topaz is a silicate of what element whose most common ore is bauxite?

-Pass.

-The answer is aluminum.

These Idaho waterfalls are named for what Native American tribe to which Sacajawea belonged?

-Conferring -- was it the Sioux?

-I was thinking the Sioux.

-We can -- We can guess.

-Is that your answer?

-Final answer Sioux.

-The answer is Shoshone.

South County High School, you've got 170 points.

Edison, you're up for the Picture Perfect Round.

First picture.

This is an example of what kind of 14th century Japanese warrior?

-Samurai.

-Samurai.

-Samurai it is.

Thousands of zebras like this one were killed in an effort to control what fly that spread sleeping sickness.

-A mosquito?

-Conferring.

-I was thinking mosquitoes.

-Was it Zika?

-I don't know.

Zika's a virus.

-Need an answer?

-Mosquito -- I think we'll go with that.

-Zika final answer.

-The answer is the tsetse fly.

-[ Sighs ] Oh.

-Oh.

-First Lady Dolley Madison, at age 80 posed for what American photographer best known for his pictures of the Civil War?

-Conferring.

-I don't know any photographers.

-Neither do I from the Civil War.

-This is something I really should know -- I don't.

-Well, when I say it, you'll know it.

Are you ready?

-Tom Sawyer?

-Matthew Brady.

-Okay.

-Anyway, you've got 190 points, Edison.

Let's play, Bethesda-Chevy Chase.

Here's the first image.

This 17th century jeweled watch was crafted in what empire, then ruled from Constantinople by a sultan?

-Conferring Ottoman Empire.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Final answer Ottoman Empire.

-Well done.

Because of their vitamin C content, limes were fed to 19th century British sailors to ward off what disease caused by a vitamin C deficiency?

-Confirmed scurvy.

-Scurvy, yeah.

-Final answer scurvy.

-You got it again.

Here in John Jay's handwriting is his draft of "No.

64", in what series of papers promoting the ratification of the U.S. Constitution?

-Conferring "Federalist Papers".

-Conferring "Federalist Papers".

-Yeah.

-Yeah, "Federalist".

-Final answer "Federalist Papers".

-"Federalist Papers" is correct.

Nice job, BCC.

260 points.

Picture Perfect Round is finished and the Packet Round is next.

♪♪ -Hello, I'm David Rubenstein.

Did you know Vincent Van Gogh is definitively known to have sold only one painting during his lifetime?

"The Red Vineyard at Arles".

He traded other paintings for food and art supplies.

"The Red Vineyard" eventually ended up in the hands of a Russian businessman who donated it to The Pushkin Museum in Moscow, which is where you'll have to go if you want to see it.

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

♪♪ -We've reached halftime, which means the Packet Round.

As you know, in this round, correct answers are worth 20 points.

Nothing off for a wrong answer.

And if you get every answer correct, there's a 25-point bonus.

Before we dive in, let's learn more about these students.

We begin with Mackenzie at South County High School.

Hey, Mackenzie, what are you up to these days?

-Right now, I'm working on special effects makeup for our school's theater productions.

-Really?

How special is it?

What are you doing?

-We're doing the show, "She Kills Monsters".

So a lot of blood, bruises, injuries.

-That's great.

Thanks, Mackenzie.

Good to see you here.

And now, Tyler, tell us about yourself.

-So I'm the president of an engineering club at our school, and we do a lot of, like, robotics.

-What's the coolest thing you're working on?

-A VEX robot, which we plan on entering into competitions throughout the year.

-Well, great.

And thanks for being here.

-Morgan, do you do any robotics?

-I don't.

In my free time, I enjoy crocheting and other fiber-related things.

-Oh, beautiful.

So do you do art out of it or are you doing clothing?

What are you doing?

-I really want to try blankets, but there are a lot of dedication, and I don't have a lot of patience.

-I can be like that, too.

And it really does take patience.

And now we can start the Packet Round.

Here's your first question, South County.

A symphony orchestra is usually divided into four parts -- strings, woodwinds, percussion.

and what section that also names a metallic alloy?

-Conferring brass.

-Brass.

-Brass.

-Brass, yeah.

-Yes, it's brass.

"In the Heart of the Sea" is the title of a book about the Essex, a ship that sank while hunting what largest aquatic mammals?

-Conferring whale.

-Whales.

-Whales.

Yeah, whales.

-Yes, you got it right.

It's whales.

Here's your science question.

Adrenal, pancreas, pituitary.

Scientists would probably attribute the great size of Goliath to the overactivity of which of these glands?

-Conferring pituitary.

-Conferring pituitary.

-Pituitary.

-Find an answer pituitary.

-You got it.

While searching for the fabulously rich city of the sun, Pizarro stumbled upon a city with roofs of gold in what Peruvian-Indian empire?

-Conferring the Incas, right?

-Incas.

Yeah, Incas.

Incas.

-Okay, final answer Incas.

-You got it again.

"A New Life" was the first major work of what Italian poet who turned over a new leaf of parchment to write "The Divine Comedy"?

-Any guesses?

-The answer is Dante.

Here's your math question.

Evaluate this expression, giving your answer as an integer.

-Conferring one?

-Yep, one.

-One.

-Final answer one.

-One is right.

The 1905 book, "Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter" was published by what 26th president, who was both an outdoorsman and a hunter?

-Conferring Roosevelt.

-Teddy Roosevelt.

-Theodore Roosevelt.

-Yep.

-Final answer Roosevelt.

-Yep, Teddy Roosevelt it is.

Nice job, South County.

290 points.

Let's meet the team from Fairfax County's Edison High School.

Hello, Erol.

What sort of things are you doing these days?

-I'm a big fan of, like, math and physics and stuff, and I'm currently working on a poster to describe how functional neuro-imaging could work in the future with, like, quantum technology.

-Wow.

That's cool.

And can you give us an understandable nugget of that?

-You know, fancy sensors make it so you can have, I don't know, a helmet that just goes on your head, and it's the same functions as, like, an MRI or something.

-Wow.

That is extraordinarily cool.

Well, it's good to have you, Erol.

And, Hope, what kind of things are you doing?

-I work, especially with the school's newspaper, on spreading social and, like, political awareness just about general, like, local, national and international government and human rights awareness kind of stuff.

-Wonderful.

And what do you hope to do with that?

Is that your passion?

Is that what you want to pursue?

-Definitely.

I think especially macroeconomics and other forms of, like, social activism are really important.

-Beautiful.

Well, thank you so much, Hope.

And finally, Smyth, what's going on with you?

Tell us about yourself.

-I write crosswords for the newspaper.

I'm an avid rock climber.

I love to scuba dive.

And I recently just got my Eagle Award.

So I'm officially an Eagle Scout.

-Wow.

That's cool.

You do all the sorts of things that I want to do.

All right, guys.

Great to meet you.

And now let's dive into this Packet Round, shall we?

Here's your first question.

Somalia has around 10 million people, but over 7 million of what desert animals that come in Bactrian and dromedary varieties.

-Conferring camels.

-A camel.

Finally answer Camel.

-Camel it is.

-What construction project described in "Genesis" was disbanded when the workmen suddenly discovered they all spoke different languages?

-Oh, is it the Tower of Babel?

-Conferring Tower of Babel.

-Oh, yes, Tower of Babel.

-The Tower of Babel, yeah.

Here's your science question.

Thymus, brain stem, cerebrum.

The seed of conscious mental processes is believed to be primarily in which of these?

-Pretty sure it's cerebrum?

-Conferring -- -Cerebrum?

-That sounds right.

-Okay.

Final answer, cerebrum.

-Yeah, you've got it.

There are over 11 million citations on Google for what 15th to 16th century Italian political philosopher who wrote "The Prince"?

-Machiavelli.

-Machiavelli.

-Final answer Machiavelli.

-Correct.

In his poem, "Invictus", William Henley wrote, "I am the master of my fate.

I am the captain of..." what spiritual side of himself that Faust sold to the devil?

-Soul?

-What is my soul?

Sorry, I went "Jeopardy!"

for one.

[ Laughs ] Conferring soul.

-Okay, we can go with that.

Final answer soul.

-Glad you went with that.

Here's your math question.

Evaluate this expression.

-45.

-45?

-That's sounds -- yeah, I think that's good.

-Final answer 45.

-Correctamundo.

"Being president is like riding a tiger," observed what 33rd chief executive, a Democrat, who rode that tiger from 1945 until 1953?

-Guys, I think it's Truman.

-Sure.

-Okay.

-Okay.

Final answer Truman.

-Yeah.

You did it again, Hope.

Harry S. Truman is the right answer, which gives you a 25-point bonus and a score of 355 points.

And now to Montgomery County's Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.

James is the captain there.

So, of course, we're gonna start with you, James.

Tell us what's going on with you.

-I'm a guy who runs the 1,600 meter and the 800 meter in track.

-Nice.

How fast are you?

-Pretty fast.

My PR in the 1,600 meter is a four minutes 53 second.

And in the 800 meter is two minutes and 8 seconds.

-Wow, that's cool.

That would kill me, just letting you know.

Well, it's great to see you back here, James.

Hello, Sasha.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

-I've just been playing lacrosse and serving as an SGA officer.

-And tell us what that means to be an SGA officer.

-Planning graduation and prom and finding a graduation speaker.

-All right, Well, it's great to have you back here, Sasha.

And hello, Kate.

What should we know about you?

-I'm on our varsity track and swim teams.

-Nice.

Which do you prefer?

Do you like one over the other?

-I might like track a little more.

-Yeah.

You gonna race with James?

-We do very different events, but yes.

-Okay, very good.

Let's begin some questions.

Here's your first one in the Packet Round.

To what ancient Egyptian Queen was Shakespeare referring to when he said, "Age cannot wither her nor custom stale her infinite variety."

-Conferring Cleopatra.

-Cleopatra.

-Yeah, Cleopatra.

-Final answer Cleopatra.

-Yes.

If there had been an "It's Academic" competition in the ancient world, it might have been sponsored by what classical goddess of wisdom?

-Conferring Athena.

-Conferring Athena.

-Athena, yeah.

-Final answer Athena.

-Yes.

Here's your science question.

Electrons, atoms, nuclei.

Electrical current in a metal wire is a flow of which of these?

-Conferring electrons.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Final answer electrons.

-Yes.

The phrase "blood and iron" was used by what iron-fisted 19th century Chancellor of Prussia to describe his plan for uniting Germany?

-Conferring Otto von Bismarck?

-Yep.

-Yes.

-Final answer Otto von Bismarck.

-It was Otto von Bismarck.

Mary Shelley was only 18 when she began what famous story about a scientist who creates a monster?

-Conferring Frankenstein.

-Frankenstein.

-Frankenstein, yes.

-Final answer Frankenstein.

-Frankenstein it is.

Here's your math question.

Solve for X if Y equals two.

-Conferring one.

-Yep.

-One, yeah.

-Final answer one.

-You got it.

Scorned by the British because he wore the simple dress of an American citizen, what U.S. diplomat later became our 15th president?

-Conferring Benjamin Franklin.

-No.

-No.

-15 -- Lincoln was 16.

-Answer?

-Buchanan.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Final answer Buchanan.

-Oh, you got it!

Yeah, it's James Buchanan, which means you've got a 25-point bonus, BCC, and a score of 425 points.

Let's see if lightning strikes next.

We've got the Lightning Round.

Can you feel the electricity?

It's time for the Lightning Round.

In this round, you've got 45 seconds to answer up to 10 questions.

They're worth 20 points up or down.

No penalty if you pass.

Ready to play with lightning, South County?

All questions in this round have to do with cold and things related to cold.

In three, two, one.

This Montana national park is named for a huge, slow moving mass of ice.

-Glacier.

-Yes.

Snowflakes usually have this number of points or sides.

-Six.

-Yes.

This belt of icy objects is just beyond Neptune.

-Ice belt.

-Kuiper Belt.

Reykjavik is the capital of this island country.

-Iceland.

-Yes.

He and Matthew Henson reached the North Pole in 1909.

-Pass.

-Robert Peary.

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is by this poet.

-Frost.

-Frost.

-Robert Frost.

This branch of physics deals with very low temperatures.

-Pass.

-Cryogenics.

Slalom and cross-country are terms used in this -- [ Buzz ] There's the buzzer.

The question slalom and cross-country are terms used in this cold sport.

The answer is skiing.

South County, nice job.

You've got 350 points.

All right, Edison, your turn to play the Lightning Round.

All questions in this round are related in some ways to things that are hot.

In three, two, one.

This is Miami's professional basketball team.

-Heat.

-Yes.

-This is the largest African desert.

-Sahara.

-Yes.

He wrote "Fahrenheit 451".

-Bradbury.

-Yes.

This mythical Greek gave fire to mankind.

-Prometheus.

-"A Song of Ice and Fire" is by this writer.

-George R.R.

Martin.

-Yes.

"The Fire Next Time" is by this 20th century African American.

-Pass.

-James Baldwin.

This imaginary line circles the Earth at zero degrees latitude.

-Equator.

-Yeah.

This is the Fahrenheit temperature at which water boils.

-212.

-Yes.

This bear symbolizes forest fire safety.

-Smokey the Bear.

-Yeah.

Cayenne and jalapeño are spicy varieties of this kind of food.

-Pepper.

-Yeah, you got it!

It is peppers.

You guys got through all of the questions.

Great job.

Edison, you've got a score of 535 points.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase, you are up in the Lightning Round.

And in this round, all questions have to do with things cold and things related to cold.

In three, two, one.

Princess Elsa has cold magic powers in this Disney movie.

-"Frozen".

-Yes.

80% of this largest island is covered in ice.

-Greenland.

-Yes.

This is another name for the Abominable Snowman.

-Yeti.

-Yes.

The South Pole was first reached by this Norwegian man.

-Amundsen.

-Yes.

"Snow White" is a fairy tale by these German brothers.

-Grimm.

-Yes.

Goaltender and face-off for terms in this cold team sport.

-Hockey.

-Yeah, -273.15 degrees Celsius is known by this two-word name.

-Absolute zero.

-Yes.

This cloud of icy bodies is at the edge of the solar system.

-Oort cloud.

-Yeah.

He wrote "The Snows of Kilimanjaro".

[ Buzz ] -Hemingway.

-Yes, it's Ernest Hemingway.

Sadly, you got that answer after the buzzer and not before.

But that's really okay, BCC, because you're walking away with an incredible 585 points.

And that is the game.

The official scores are next.

-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.

-Hi, my name is Maia Nehme, and I'm a 17-year-old senior at Washington International School.

Last school year, I dedicated a lot of time to building a Little Free Library or LFL for short for Moten Elementary School.

For those of you who don't know, a LFL is a small wooden box where anyone can take or leave a book.

And it's meant to increase accessibility to books across socioeconomic divides.

I got the idea to build this LFL after reading a lot of articles about how the pandemic was deepening an achievement gap between public and private school students, since many public schools were fully online for much longer than private schools.

And I realized that this achievement gap was especially impacting public elementary school students.

And there was a significant impact on English language acquisition scores and decreases in students reading recreationally.

So I decided to tackle this issue on a micro level by building a LFL for Moten Elementary, which is a public elementary school in D.C..

I constructed the LFL from scratch, and I even hosted a book drive at my school where I collected over 50 children's books.

And the fully stocked LFL is now located at Moten.

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

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

♪♪ -The scores are now official.

First, congratulations to South County High School from Lorton, Virginia.

Mackenzie, Tyler, and Morgan, 350 points.

And congratulations to team number two, Edison High School from Fairfax County.

Erol, Hope, Smyth, 535 points.

And coming back for the playoffs, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School from Montgomery County.

James, Sasha, and Kate, 585 points.

Way to bring it, guys.

Let's hear it for our incredible teams and you, our incredible viewers.

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

-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."

-Please join us next time when Independence, Mt.

Vernon, and Rockville High Schools compete right here on "It's Academic".

I'm Hillary Howard.

See you then.

Bye, everybody.

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

♪♪