Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Round 3 Questions


Round 1: Current Affairs


1)      In the recent British election, the Conservatives won a slim majority. Who is the leader of the Conservatives?
a)      David Cameron

2)      A MARA-sponsored student of Imperial College, London was recently prosecuted for possession and distribution of child pornography. What is this student’s name?
a)      Nur Fitri

3)      The United Kingdom is made of up 4 territories: Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, and England. In 2014, one of those territories had a referendum on independence from the United Kingdom. Which of those territories was it?
a)      Scotland

4)      Which tennis Grand Slam tournament is currently being held at Roland Garros?
a)      French Open

5)      Xavier Bettel, the Prime Minister of a country in Europe, recently became the first European leader to marry someone of the same sex while in office. What country is he Prime Minister of?
a)      Luxembourg

6)      A recent hot issue in Malaysia involves a certain foundation using their funds to buy land from 1MDB, which is in financial trouble, and then proceeding to sell that land. Name this foundation.
a)      Tabung Haji

7)      What phenomenon recently killed 500 people in India?
a)      A heatwave

8)      There is a brutal and ongoing struggle for safety and freedom in Ukraine. Much of this was sparked by Russia’s annexation in 2014 of part of Ukraine. What is the name of the part of Ukraine that Russia annexed? (To annex means to takeover or seize)
a)      Crimea


9)      ISIS recently took seized the city of Palmyra, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. In what country is Palmyra located?
a)      Syria

10)   The 1st of April saw many Malaysians whining and grumbling about the GST -- also known as the Goods and Services Tax. What is the percentage that the GST taxes?
a)      6%

11)    The journalist Mohamad Fahmy was recently released from Egyptian jails after spending more than a year there on charges of threatening national security. Which popular Qatari news network does he belong to?
a)      Al-Jazeera

12)   Malaysian police recently found 150 of these along the Perlis-Thailand border. What did they find?
a)      Graves of migrants

13)   The Eurovision contest this year was recently concluded. Which country was the winner from?
a)      Sweden

14)   This Malaysian company lost 6 billion ringgit in value over the past 1 week. Name it.
a)      Tenaga Nasional

15)   On the 2nd of May 2015, two boxers met in the ring for a match that was dubbed “The Fight of the Century”. The boxer that won the fight has never been defeated in his professional career. Name that boxer.
a.       Floyd Mayweather Jr (accept without Jr) 



Round 2: Spitfire
Religion or Politics
(Team with lowest points gets to choose theme first)

Instructions to be read out:
Choice One: Religion

1)      Which religion did science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard found?
a)      Scientology

2)      In Hinduism, the god Brahma is the creator, whereas the god Vishnu is the preserver. Who is the destroyer?
a)      Shiva

3)      The Protestant Reformation marked the split in Christianity into Catholicism and Protestantism. Who was the leading figure in the Protestant Reformation?
a)      Martin Luther

4)      How many pillars of Islam are there?
a)      Five

5)      What is the name of the holy book of Judaism?
a)      The Torah (or Pentateuch)

6)      Who is the founder of Taoism?
a)      Laozi (or Lao-Tzu)

7)      From which country did Buddhism originate from?
a)      India

8)      There are a few different branches of Islam. Name the branch of Islam practiced by most Malaysian Muslims.
a)      Sunni Islam

9)      Roughly how many people on Earth identify themselves as Christians?
a)      2.2 Billion (accept answers within the range of 1.8 to 2.6 billion)

10)   Followers of Islam are called Muslims. Followers of Hinduism are called Hindus. What do you call followers of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster?
a)      Pastafarians
b)      Additional Trivia: Pastafarianism is what you would call a parody religion. Interestingly, while Christians would end their prayers with an Amen, Pastafarians end theirs with a “Ramen”.

Choice Two: Politics

1)      Who was the British Prime Minister during World War Two?
a)      Winston Churchill

2)      In which year did the Federation of Malaya become Malaysia?
a)      1963

3)      How old must you be in order to vote in Malaysia’s general elections?
a)      21 years old

4)      The United Kingdom is a union of four countries. Name all four countries.
a)      Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland (reject ‘Ireland’)

5)      With 800 million voters, which country is the world’s largest democracy?
a)      India

6)      Who is the current dictator of North Korea?
a)      Kim Jong Un

7)      Hillary Clinton is running for President of the United States of America next year. What is her husband’s name?
a)      Bill Clinton (or William Jefferson Clinton)

8)      The Arab Spring was a revolutionary wave of protest in the Arab world. In which country did it start?
a)      Tunisia

9)      Simon Bolivar was a key figure in fighting for Latin American freedom from the Spanish. Which country is named after him?
a)      Bolivia

10)   Nigeria has recently held its general elections, where power was peacefully passed to the victorious candidate -- Muhammad Buhari. Who was the president of Nigeria before Muhammad Buhari?
a)      Goodluck Jonathan

Round 3: Double or nothing
Time to Get Sciencey

1)      This heavenly body is the only one of its kind that is visible to the naked eye from earth. It has a highly elliptical orbit around the sun, and is visible to the average human being twice in their lifetime. Sightings of this body were recorded by Babylonian and Chinese astronomers as early as 240 BC. It was last seen from earth in 1986 and will next be visible in 2061. It is a comet. It was named after the astronomer who first determined its periodicity, Edmond Halley. What is this comet’s name?
a)      Halley’s Comet.


2)      This animal measures 16 metres on average, and is the only living member of the genus Physeter (fi-se-ter). It is a mammal, and has the largest teeth of any predator on planet Earth. It fiercely patrols the depths of the ocean as far down as 8000 feet, and feeds primarily on the squid. It also has the largest brain of any mammal on earth. It is a type of whale, and is often mistaken for the blue whale or killer whale. It shares part of its name with the male reproductive cell. What is it?
a)      Sperm whale (No other answer to be accepted)


3)      Revered in mathematics for their undefined beauty, these giants have come under much scrutiny from some of the greatest scientific minds in history. Stephen Hawking discovered what is now known as Hawking radiation by studying them. More recently, they have been popularized to the public via films such as Gravity, The Theory of Everything, and Interstellar. It is said that there is no escape from their event horizons due to their massive gravitational pull, even for something as speedy as light. We also know that they are very, very dark. What are they?
a)      Black holes


4)      This element possesses the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and reflectivity of any metal. It is soft, shiny and is a transition metal. It is found naturally in its pure form. It is often referred to as a precious metal and has been used in the past as money. It is also more abundant than its slightly more famous partner, gold. What is it?
a)      Silver

 
5)      These sneaky little things were discovered on accident by Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen on November 8th, 1895. They have ionising powers and are important in the field of computed tomography scanning. Their discovery and use has contributed greatly to, among other things, the field of oncology. One might typically find these used in the radiology department of a hospital. They are a kind of electromagnetic radiation, and they have an X in their name. What are they?
a)      X-rays



Round 4: Head to Head
Geography

Set One
1) Name the world’s highest mountain
a) Mount Everest

2) Give the names of five different continents
a) Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, Antarctica (Any five)

N.B.
- If they say ‘America’, count it as one continent not two.
- Likewise for ‘Eurasia’ (Europe and Asia)
- Likewise for ‘Afro-Eurasia’ (Africa, Europe and Asia)
- The Arctic is not a continent

3) Name one country that passes through the equator
a) Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Sao Tome & Principe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia or Kiribati. (Any one)
Trivia: The Indonesian city of Pontianak is almost exactly on the equator. More interestingly, however, is the fact that this city is named after the Pontianak vampire in Malay and Indonesian culture.


Set Two
1) Name the four seasons
a) Spring, Summer, Autumn/Fall, Winter

2) What is the longest river in the world?
a) The Nile River

3) What is the name of the canal that connects the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean?
a) The Panama Canal


Set Three
1) Name the largest country in the world by total area
a) Russia

2) What are the two most common natural disasters in Malaysia?
a) Floods and Landslides

3) What do you call a cluster of islands?
a) An archipelago
Trivia: The Malay Archipelago is the largest in the world at 2 million square kilometres of area! Indonesia, the Philippines and East Malaysia are located in this archipelago.


Set Four
1) With 1.3 billion people, which is the largest country in the world by population?
a) China

2) Give three examples of fossil fuels
a) Oil/petroleum, coal, natural gas

3) Name the deepest lake in the world
a) Lake Baikal



Round 5: General Knowledge


1)      What is the name of the second man to walk on the moon?
a)      Buzz Aldrin or Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.

2)      The longest-serving Prime Minister in world history passed away this year. What was his name?
a)      Lee Kuan Yew

3)      Which chemical element makes up most of the air we breathe?
a)      Nitrogen

4)      What is the name of the national anthem of the United States of America?
a)      The Star-spangled Banner
                
5)      Most KTJ students would be familiar with Secret Recipe and their famous cakes - but which country does Secret Recipe originate from?
a)      Malaysia

6)      What is eleven thousand, one hundred and eleven multiplied by itself?
(11111 x 11111)
a)      123,454,321 (one-two-three-four-five-four-three-two-one)

7)      Who is the creator of Facebook?
a)      Mark Zuckerberg

8)      Name the longest bone in the human body
a)      The Femur (Accept: Thigh Bone)

9)      PETA is the world’s largest animal rights group, famous for their controversial campaigns. What does PETA stand for?
a)      People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

10)   What is the name of the newest country in the world?
a)      South Sudan

11)   The Asteroid belt is a region in the Solar system occupied by -- wait for it -- Asteroids. Between which two planets is the Asteroid Belt located?
a)      Mars and Jupiter

12)   Who is the world’s fastest man and from which country is he from?
a)      Usain Bolt from Jamaica

13)   An adult male sheep is known as a ram. What is an adult female sheep known as?
a)      A ewe

14)   The Beatles are one of the most influential bands of all time. Name one of their members
a)      John  Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, or George Harrison (Any One)

15)   Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
a)      Spongebob Squarepants




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