NAQT PRACTICE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
At the end of this novel, its protagonist admonishes his sons that "it is the end of a
family when they begin to sell the land." A girl in this novel, who is mentally-challenged
because she was starved as an infant, is called "Poor Fool." This novel's protagonist
pulls a (*) rickshaw after he is forced to move to the city with his wife, O-Lan. For 10
points—name this novel about the farmer Wang Lung, written by Pearl S. Buck -
Answers :The Good Earth
The Southern Song and Northern Yuan were examples of these states that clung to
power after dynastic shifts. For 10 points each— Give this term for a small remnant
ruled by a state that has been diminished by conquest or other losses. answer: -
Answers :Rump State
The Seleucid [sel-YOO-sud] Empire was reduced to a rump state in Syria after the
conquests of Mithridates I [mith-ruh-DATE-eez "the 1st"] of this Asian empire, known for
its horse archers' tactic of firing while retreating. answer - Answers :Parthian [PAR-thee-
in] Empire (or Parthia or Parthians
The Southern Ming became a rump state after this last dynasty of imperial China took
power in 1644. answer: - Answers :(Great) Qing [cheeng] Dynasty (or Ch'ing Dynasty or
Manchu Dynasty or Qing cháo)
This religion inspired Nanban [nahn-bahn] art. Bernard Petitjean [peh-tee-zhawn]
discovered so-called "hidden" practitioners of this faith who worshiped a figure
disguised as a Buddhist Bodhisattva [boh-dih-SUT-vuh] Kannon. Suspected
practitioners of this faith were made to step on images called (*) fumi-e [foo-mee ay].
The 26 Martyrs practiced this faith, which was outlawed by the Tokugawa [toh-koo-gah-
wah] shogunate ["SHOW-gun"-ate]. For 10 points—what faith was spread to Japan by
Francis Xavier, a Jesuit - Answers :Christianity (accept Roman Catholicism)
For 10 points each—name these locations of wintry mazes: A. The largest ice maze in
the U.S. is in the town of Stillwater in this state's Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.
answer: - Answers :Minnesota
In 2021 a massive snow maze was constructed in Saint Adolphe in this Canadian
Prairie province, which lies directly west of Ontario - Answers :Manitoba
At this European country's southern border along the Tatra Mountains, a large snow
maze is among the attractions of Snowlandia in its so-called "Winter Capital" of
Zakopane [zahk-koh-PAH-nay]. answer: - Answers :Poland
In myths from this civilization, two "sycamores of turquoise" stand at the eastern gate of
heaven. In various cities, these people prayed to sets of gods called the Ogdoad [AHG-
doh-ad] and the Ennead. These people held that in the underworld Du'at [doo-AHT], the
serpent (*) Apep [AY-pep] fought nightly with the driver of the solar barge. The scarab
,["SCARE"-ub] beetle was sacred to—for 10 points—what ancient society that believed
descendants of Ra ruled as pharaohs? answer: - Answers :(Ancient) Egypt(ians)
(accept Old Kingdom or Middle Kingdom or New Kingdom)
Virtual pairs of these particles and their antiparticles create a phenomenon called a
"sea." For 10 points each— A. A proton consists of three of what particles, whose
flavors include "up" and "down"? answer: - Answers :quarks
The annihilation of sea quarks produces these particles, which are found along with
quarks in a namesake type of plasma. answer: - Answers :gluons [GLOO-ahnz]
Because they have color charge, quarks and gluons have this property, meaning that
they cannot exist in isolation. answer: - Answers :color confinement (accept confined
This element's chloride salt forms an orange mineral called sylvite [SIL-vyte] left over as
evaporite [uh-VAP-uh-"rite"] in extremely dry conditions. The decay of a radioisotope of
this element to argon [AR-gahn] is used in radioactive dating of rocks. This element's
nitrate ["NITE-rate"] salt, called (*) saltpeter, is an oxidizer found in gunpowder. For 10
points—what alkali [AL-kuh-lye] metal below sodium on the periodic table is found in
bananas? answer: - Answers :potassium (or K)
For 10 points each—answer the following about the May Laws of 1873: A. The May
Laws were part of this empire's attempt to suppress the Catholic Church during a
"culture struggle." answer - Answers :German Empire (or Germany)
The German May Laws were the brainchild of this Prussian, who was nicknamed the
"Iron Chancellor." answer: - Answers :Otto von Bismarck
During the Kulturkampf, Bismarck promised that 19th-century Germany "would not go"
to this place, an Italian fortress where medieval Emperor Henry IV ["the fourth"] did
penance during the Investiture Controversy. answer: - Answers :Canossa [kuh-NOH-
sah]
This character is more skilled at making clothes than "those of Ypres [eep] and of
Ghent." In one speech, this character notes that both Jacob and Abraham married more
than once. This character describes a knight whom Queen Guinevere gives a year and
a day to discover what (*) women most desire, and who finds the answer is
"sovereignty" [SAHV-run-tee]. Alyson is one possible name of—for 10 points—what
character from The Canterbury Tales? answer: - Answers :The Wife of Bath (accept
Alyson or Alys before "Alyson")
For 10 points each—answer the following about people Donald Trump fired by tweet: A.
Rex Tillerson claimed that he learned of his firing from this office from a tweet. Mike
Pompeo [pahm-PAY-oh] held this diplomatic office later in the Trump administration.
answer: - Answers :(United States) secretary of state (prompt on partial answers)
, In September 2019 Trump tweeted the firing of this national security advisor, whose
memoir of his time in the Trump administration is titled The Room Where It Happened.
answer: - Answers :John Bolton
Trump also used a tweet to dismiss this woman from her post as secretary of homeland
security in April 2019. answer: - Answers :Kirstjen [KEERST-gen] Nielsen
A 20th-century composer from this country called for a player to scrape piano strings in
his piece The Banshee. Henry Cowell was a composer from this country, where Erich
["Eric"] Korngold wrote Captain Blood and other (*) film scores after leaving Austria. A
composer from this country wrote a ballet that begins and ends on "The Open Prairie."
For 10 points—what country was home to the composer of Billy the Kid, Aaron
Copland? answer: - Answers :United States of America or U.S.A. (accept any
underlined portion)
These numbers are the zeroes of cyclotomic [syk-loh-TAH-mik] polynomials. For 10
points each— A. Give this term for complex numbers that are solutions for x in the
equation x to the n equals 1, where n is an integer. answer: - Answers :(nth) roots of
unity (accept primitive roots of unity
There are n solutions for x to the n equals 1 according to this theorem, which states that
a polynomial of degree n has n complex roots. answer: - Answers :fundamental theorem
of algebra
Sometimes a root of a polynomial is repeated, which is known by this term. For
example, "x squared minus 2 x plus 1" has 1 as its only root, but the root "counts" twice.
answer: - Answers :multiplicity
. Combining the Standard Model with a quantum mechanical explanation of this force
would produce a "theory of everything." Curvature of light by this force causes its
namesake "lensing." In 2016, the (*) LIGO ["LIE-go"] experiment announced the
detection of waves named for this force produced by a black hole merger. Objects on
Earth accelerate at 9.8 meters per second-squared as a result of—for 10 points—what
attractive force? answer: - Answers :gravity or gravitational force (accept gravitational
lens(ing) or gravity waves or gravitational waves or gravitational radiation)
The 1999 Kargil War between India and Pakistan challenged many theories of
international relations. For 10 points each— A. The war violated this German
philosopher's claim that democracies would not fight each other, made in his 1795 book
Perpetual Peace. answer: - Answers :Immanuel Kant
Both India and Pakistan had franchises of this fast food chain with a golden arches
symbol, violating a theory similar to Kant's proposed by Thomas Friedman. answer: -
Answers :McDonald's
At the end of this novel, its protagonist admonishes his sons that "it is the end of a
family when they begin to sell the land." A girl in this novel, who is mentally-challenged
because she was starved as an infant, is called "Poor Fool." This novel's protagonist
pulls a (*) rickshaw after he is forced to move to the city with his wife, O-Lan. For 10
points—name this novel about the farmer Wang Lung, written by Pearl S. Buck -
Answers :The Good Earth
The Southern Song and Northern Yuan were examples of these states that clung to
power after dynastic shifts. For 10 points each— Give this term for a small remnant
ruled by a state that has been diminished by conquest or other losses. answer: -
Answers :Rump State
The Seleucid [sel-YOO-sud] Empire was reduced to a rump state in Syria after the
conquests of Mithridates I [mith-ruh-DATE-eez "the 1st"] of this Asian empire, known for
its horse archers' tactic of firing while retreating. answer - Answers :Parthian [PAR-thee-
in] Empire (or Parthia or Parthians
The Southern Ming became a rump state after this last dynasty of imperial China took
power in 1644. answer: - Answers :(Great) Qing [cheeng] Dynasty (or Ch'ing Dynasty or
Manchu Dynasty or Qing cháo)
This religion inspired Nanban [nahn-bahn] art. Bernard Petitjean [peh-tee-zhawn]
discovered so-called "hidden" practitioners of this faith who worshiped a figure
disguised as a Buddhist Bodhisattva [boh-dih-SUT-vuh] Kannon. Suspected
practitioners of this faith were made to step on images called (*) fumi-e [foo-mee ay].
The 26 Martyrs practiced this faith, which was outlawed by the Tokugawa [toh-koo-gah-
wah] shogunate ["SHOW-gun"-ate]. For 10 points—what faith was spread to Japan by
Francis Xavier, a Jesuit - Answers :Christianity (accept Roman Catholicism)
For 10 points each—name these locations of wintry mazes: A. The largest ice maze in
the U.S. is in the town of Stillwater in this state's Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.
answer: - Answers :Minnesota
In 2021 a massive snow maze was constructed in Saint Adolphe in this Canadian
Prairie province, which lies directly west of Ontario - Answers :Manitoba
At this European country's southern border along the Tatra Mountains, a large snow
maze is among the attractions of Snowlandia in its so-called "Winter Capital" of
Zakopane [zahk-koh-PAH-nay]. answer: - Answers :Poland
In myths from this civilization, two "sycamores of turquoise" stand at the eastern gate of
heaven. In various cities, these people prayed to sets of gods called the Ogdoad [AHG-
doh-ad] and the Ennead. These people held that in the underworld Du'at [doo-AHT], the
serpent (*) Apep [AY-pep] fought nightly with the driver of the solar barge. The scarab
,["SCARE"-ub] beetle was sacred to—for 10 points—what ancient society that believed
descendants of Ra ruled as pharaohs? answer: - Answers :(Ancient) Egypt(ians)
(accept Old Kingdom or Middle Kingdom or New Kingdom)
Virtual pairs of these particles and their antiparticles create a phenomenon called a
"sea." For 10 points each— A. A proton consists of three of what particles, whose
flavors include "up" and "down"? answer: - Answers :quarks
The annihilation of sea quarks produces these particles, which are found along with
quarks in a namesake type of plasma. answer: - Answers :gluons [GLOO-ahnz]
Because they have color charge, quarks and gluons have this property, meaning that
they cannot exist in isolation. answer: - Answers :color confinement (accept confined
This element's chloride salt forms an orange mineral called sylvite [SIL-vyte] left over as
evaporite [uh-VAP-uh-"rite"] in extremely dry conditions. The decay of a radioisotope of
this element to argon [AR-gahn] is used in radioactive dating of rocks. This element's
nitrate ["NITE-rate"] salt, called (*) saltpeter, is an oxidizer found in gunpowder. For 10
points—what alkali [AL-kuh-lye] metal below sodium on the periodic table is found in
bananas? answer: - Answers :potassium (or K)
For 10 points each—answer the following about the May Laws of 1873: A. The May
Laws were part of this empire's attempt to suppress the Catholic Church during a
"culture struggle." answer - Answers :German Empire (or Germany)
The German May Laws were the brainchild of this Prussian, who was nicknamed the
"Iron Chancellor." answer: - Answers :Otto von Bismarck
During the Kulturkampf, Bismarck promised that 19th-century Germany "would not go"
to this place, an Italian fortress where medieval Emperor Henry IV ["the fourth"] did
penance during the Investiture Controversy. answer: - Answers :Canossa [kuh-NOH-
sah]
This character is more skilled at making clothes than "those of Ypres [eep] and of
Ghent." In one speech, this character notes that both Jacob and Abraham married more
than once. This character describes a knight whom Queen Guinevere gives a year and
a day to discover what (*) women most desire, and who finds the answer is
"sovereignty" [SAHV-run-tee]. Alyson is one possible name of—for 10 points—what
character from The Canterbury Tales? answer: - Answers :The Wife of Bath (accept
Alyson or Alys before "Alyson")
For 10 points each—answer the following about people Donald Trump fired by tweet: A.
Rex Tillerson claimed that he learned of his firing from this office from a tweet. Mike
Pompeo [pahm-PAY-oh] held this diplomatic office later in the Trump administration.
answer: - Answers :(United States) secretary of state (prompt on partial answers)
, In September 2019 Trump tweeted the firing of this national security advisor, whose
memoir of his time in the Trump administration is titled The Room Where It Happened.
answer: - Answers :John Bolton
Trump also used a tweet to dismiss this woman from her post as secretary of homeland
security in April 2019. answer: - Answers :Kirstjen [KEERST-gen] Nielsen
A 20th-century composer from this country called for a player to scrape piano strings in
his piece The Banshee. Henry Cowell was a composer from this country, where Erich
["Eric"] Korngold wrote Captain Blood and other (*) film scores after leaving Austria. A
composer from this country wrote a ballet that begins and ends on "The Open Prairie."
For 10 points—what country was home to the composer of Billy the Kid, Aaron
Copland? answer: - Answers :United States of America or U.S.A. (accept any
underlined portion)
These numbers are the zeroes of cyclotomic [syk-loh-TAH-mik] polynomials. For 10
points each— A. Give this term for complex numbers that are solutions for x in the
equation x to the n equals 1, where n is an integer. answer: - Answers :(nth) roots of
unity (accept primitive roots of unity
There are n solutions for x to the n equals 1 according to this theorem, which states that
a polynomial of degree n has n complex roots. answer: - Answers :fundamental theorem
of algebra
Sometimes a root of a polynomial is repeated, which is known by this term. For
example, "x squared minus 2 x plus 1" has 1 as its only root, but the root "counts" twice.
answer: - Answers :multiplicity
. Combining the Standard Model with a quantum mechanical explanation of this force
would produce a "theory of everything." Curvature of light by this force causes its
namesake "lensing." In 2016, the (*) LIGO ["LIE-go"] experiment announced the
detection of waves named for this force produced by a black hole merger. Objects on
Earth accelerate at 9.8 meters per second-squared as a result of—for 10 points—what
attractive force? answer: - Answers :gravity or gravitational force (accept gravitational
lens(ing) or gravity waves or gravitational waves or gravitational radiation)
The 1999 Kargil War between India and Pakistan challenged many theories of
international relations. For 10 points each— A. The war violated this German
philosopher's claim that democracies would not fight each other, made in his 1795 book
Perpetual Peace. answer: - Answers :Immanuel Kant
Both India and Pakistan had franchises of this fast food chain with a golden arches
symbol, violating a theory similar to Kant's proposed by Thomas Friedman. answer: -
Answers :McDonald's
